THE  LIBRARIES 


Bequest  of 

Frederic  Bancroft 

1860-1945 


FIFTY  YEARS 


IN    THE 


LUTHERAN  MINISTRY. 


BY 


JOHN  G.  MORRIS. 


BALTIMORE : 
Printed  for  the  Author  bt  Jiittts.ToyitG, 
112  West  Balddioit)'  Stl-eet. "     '  ' 


"^son^ 


IV  INDEX. 

Colleges,  Luthevan 498 

Colloquium 457 

Concordia  College .518 

Conrad,  F.  W.,  on  S.  S.  Schnuicker 131 

Council,  General 299 

Crape  at  Funerals 3G7 

Cult 349 

D.  D's.  in  Lutheran  Church 438 

Definite  Platform 337 

Demme,  Dr 119 

"  Departures  " 383 

Dewitl,  W   11.,  Letter  of 30 

Diehl.  Dr.  D.,  Letter  of 46 

"  "       Maryland  Synod  Question 485 

Diet,  The   457 

Donation  Parties 366 

Dorner,  Prof. 465 

Ebcnezer 6 

Education  Society 520 

Education,  Theological 522 

Eichelbergcr,  Dr.  L 189 

Endress,  Dr.  C 33 

Episcopal  Church 259 

Evangelical  Review  on  Definite  Platform 342-46 

Evangelisches  Magazin 22 

Fabricius 5 

Feltz,  Rev.  Dr.  P.,  Letter  of 244 

Finckel,  Dr.  S... 235 

Flowers  in  Churches 354 

Forms  of  Worship 8 

Franckean  Synod 273,281,  413 

Funerals 424 

Gas  in  Churches 355 

Geissenhainer,  Dr.  F.  W 34,  36 

General  Council 299 

General  Synod 257 

"      South 297 

German  Reformed 262 

■Glenn,  Rev.,  Murder  of 404 

Gocring,  Rev 12,  24 

'Government,  Form  of 7 

Gown,  use  of S'^l 

■Gronau,  Rev 6 

Ounn,  Rev.  W 180 

Gustavus  Adolphus 5 

Hay,  Dr.  C.  A.,  Letters  of 20, 181 

"      "       "     Arrest  of 401 

Hazelius,  Dr.  E.  L 66 


INDEX.  V 

Henkel,  Rt'v.  Paul 43 

"        Aiulrew,  Letter  of 45 

HeycT,  Rev.  F 211,  216 

Hutter,  Dr  E.  W 194 

Hymn  Books 492 

Ignorance  Concerning  our  Clnucli 482 

Insurance  League 301 

Jacobs,  D 229 

Jacobs,  Prof.  M 228 

"      H.  E 233 

Jubilee  in  1808  293,  420 

"      Publications 428,430 

Keller,  B 155 

"      E 182 

Kneeling  at  Coninuinion   350 

Kraft,  Prof 407 

Krauth,  Dr.  C.  P.,  Sketch  of 101 

"       Letter  of 27 

Kurtz,  Dr.  J.  D 21 

"      Dr.  B 137,  140-0 

Leading  Men  in  1820 10 

Lectureship  and  Prizes 433 

Legacies 405 

Leliraanowsky 238 

Lintner,  Rev.  G.  A.,  Letter  of 59 

"      Sketch  of 200 

Literature  of  Lutheran  Church 201,  300,  428 

Liturgy 349 

Lochman,  Rev.  G ~9 

'*         Rev.  A.,  Letter 32 

Luther,  Books  on 445,  47 

Luther  College 515 

Lutheran  Cluirch,  History  of.  5 

"        Booksin 310 

Colleges 498 

"        Writers  on  Science 441 

"        Ministers,  College  Professors  436 

"        Laymen  Writers 441 

Pastors'  Fund 390 

"        Members  of  Learned  Societies 441 

"        Commentators  444 

"        Members  of  Foreign  Societies 441 

"        Settlements 5 

Maine,  Lutheran  Settlement  in 0 

Martin,  Rev.  J 233 

Maryland  Synod  Question 485 

Matthews,  Rev.  J.  M.,  Letter 38 

Mayer,  Rev.  Dr.  P.  F 90 


VI  INDEX. 

Miller,  Rev.  G.  B.,  Letter 68 

"        "  "       Sketch 89 

"      Rev.  J 92 

Ministers  fiom  Germany,  early 7 

Number  in  18'26 9 

"        Visitors  to  this  Country 462 

"        Who  have  left 382 

"        Who  have  joined  us 382 

"        Summer  Vacations  4G9 

"        Fees 365 

"        Presents  to • 365 

Professors  in  other  Colleges 436 

Missions,  Foreign 474 

Missionary  Institute 537 

Morris,  C.  A 247 

"      J.  G.,  Letters 13,  72 

Muhlenberg,  Rev.  H.  Melchior 6,  7 

"    H.A... 48 

H.  H.,  Letter 93 

"  College 513 

Naming  Churches 362 

New  Measures  386 

Noel,  Counsellor 466 

North  Carolina  College 543 

Ockershausen,  A 250 

Oxenstiern 5 

Pacific  Overture 341 

Pastors'  Fund 390 

Paxton,  Rev.  Dr.,  Letter 186 

Pennsylvania  College 498 

Pennsylvania  Synod  and  General  Synod..258, 260,  266,  276,  277,  279,  283-92 

Pictures  in  Churches 355 

Plitt,  Rev.  J.,  Letter 159 

Pohlman,  Rev.  H.  N.,  Letters 70,  87 

"      Sketch 217 

Political  Office 408 

Prayer  Meetings 352 

Preaching,  Method  of 352 

Presbyterian  Delegate 267 

Prizes 433 

Quitman,  Rev.  Dr 56 

Reck,  Rev.  A 162, 163-75 

Reformation  Day 293,  435 

"  Literature  of 428 

Relief  Fund 389 

Revivalism 386 

Richards,  Rev.  J.  W 176 

Rizer,  Rev.  P.,  Letter  of 239 


INDEX.  Vll 

Koanoke  College   •'511 

Roedi'lslicimer's  Legacy 417 

Romish  Baptism -!'•'» 

Rosemuiller,  Rev.  D.  P.,  Letter 40 

Rutlirautr,  Rev.  J.  F 40 

»     F '"^fi 

Sacred  Music 35o 

Saltzburgors ^> 

Scbaefifer,  Rev.  C.  F.,  Letter 25 

F.D 23 

F.  C 86 

D.  F  9G,  100 

Schmidt,  Rev.  Dr.  H.  J.,  Letter 67 

Schmucker,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  G 11 

"      S.  S 15,121,341 

Schoharie ^ 

SemiCeuteiiiiial  Jubilee 42G 

Senderling,  Rev.  J.  Z 244 

Settlements  of  Lutherans 5 

Sheeleigii,  Rev.  M.,  Library 320 

Shober,  Rev.  G 39 

South  Carolina  College 509 

Spaeth,  Rev.  Dr.  A 299 

Sprague's  Annals 11,  24,  45 

Sprecher,  Rev.  Dr.  S 1*^4 

Stained  Glass 3''54 

State  of  the  Country 2G9.  271,  282 

State  of  Theology 392 

Stal  isties 424 

Stephan 322 

Stoever.  Prof 49,  G4,  104,  182,  252 

Stork,  Rev.  Dr.  T 202 

Streit's  Legacy 417 

Strobel,  Rev.  Dr 217 

Suicides,  Burial  of 362 

Summer  Vacations 4(i9 

Sunday  School  Hynm  Books 496 

Swedes "^ 

Synod  General  257 

Synods  in  182G  ^ 

Synodical  Visits  to  Presidents 468 

Theological  Education '-- 

"  Seminary.   •■■ ' 

"  "        of  South  Carolina 535 

Theology,  State  of ^^^ 

Thiel  College 516 

Titus,  Rev.  T.  T 1^^ 

Uhlhorn,  Rev.  J ^^ 


Vlll  INDEX. 

Union  Army,  Minipters  and  SUidonts  in 397 

Wackcrliiigcn,  liev.  Dr 57,  63 

Wafers  in  Sacrament 35G-58 

AVartburg  Seminary ' 514 

Weiser,  Kev.  K  ,  Letter 249 

Why  We  Lose  Members 363 

AVliy  so  few  Germans  join  Englisli  Clmrclies 374 

Witclicraft,  belief  in 37 

Wittenberg  College 505 

Women  Pi-aying  in  Meeting 352 

Worship,  Mode  of 349 

Wyueken,  Rev 264,  360 


NOTICE. 


To  my  deep  regret  I  was  compelled  to  omit  many  good  tilings  which 
were  properly  comprehcuded  within  the  scope  of  m)^  book,  but  I  found  its 
size  growing  so  fast  upon  me,  that  I  was  reluctantly  obliged  to  retrench. 
The  subjects  of  Home  Missions,  the  Book  Company,  Histories  of  Synods, 
numerous  private  reminiscences  of  persons,  a  large  number  of  piquant  and 
original  anecdotes  and  other  interesting  matters  will  probably  appear  in  an- 
other volume  under  consideration.  I  direct  the  reader's  atlcntiou  to  the 
following 

ERRATA. 

Page  121, 10th  line  from  bottom,  for  reorganized  read  surprised. 

Page  126,  top  line,  for  on  read  no. 

Page  267,  17tii  line  from  bottom,  for  salvation  read  salutation. 

Page  340,  last  line,  for  two  read  three. 

Page  417, 10th  line  from  top,  for  legatees  read  testators. 

Page  465,  5th  line  from  top,  for  Ohhausen  read  Hengstenberg. 


Historical  Introduction." 


TU(M)l•i^in  of  the  Liillieraii  Cliunli  in  America  was  in  an  cniiirr.ition 
from  Holland,  wliieli  dates  back  nearly  to  llie  first  settlement  of  tin-  Dntcli 
in  New  Amsterdam,  in  1G'2I.  So  loni?  as  the  territorj'  belonged  to  flol- 
land,llie  Lutherans  were  obliged  to  hold  their  religious  services  in  private; 
but  from  UUi-l,  when  Britisii  rale  commenced,  tiiey  were  permitted  to  con- 
duct liivir  woi-ship  publicly— a  privilege  which  was  continued  to  them 
under  all  the  successive  Governors.  Their  first  minister  was  Jacob  Fabri- 
cius,  who  arrived  in  this  country  in  1669,  but,  after  having  served  them  for 
eight  j'cai-s,  withdrew  and  took  charge  of  the  Swedish  Church  at  Wicaco, 
now  Southwark,  Philadelphia.  Here,  after  having  labored  fourteen  years, 
during  nine  of  which  he  was  blind,  he  died  in  1692. 

The  next  Lutheran  settlement  was  that  of  the  Swedes  on  the  Delaware, 
in  1636.  This  Colony  was  first  contemplated  during  the  reign  of  Gus- 
tavus  Adolphus,  and  with  his  heart}' concurrence ;  but,  being  delayed  by 
the  Thirty  Years'  War,  the  plan  subsequently  took  effect  under  the  aus- 
pices of  his  illustrious  Prime  Alinister,  Oxenstiern.  The  Colony  prospered 
for  some  time,  but,  not  receiving  any  accessions  from  the  parent  country, 
it  came  gradually  to  languish  until  the  Swedish  language  Avas  entirely 
abandoned,  and  the  congregations,  three  or  four  in  number,  became  incor- 
porated with  the  Episcopal  Church. 

The  third  settlement  of  Lutherans  was  that  of  the  Germans,  which,  be- 
ginning in  Pennsylvania,  extended  to  Maryland,  Virginia,  the  interior  of 
New  York  and  the  Western  Stales.  Li  1710  about  three  thou.-and  Ger- 
mans, chiefly  Lutherans,  came  to  New  York,  by  way  of  England,  having 
been  driven  from  tlieir  native  land  bj-  Komish  i)ersccution,  and  settled  on 
the  Hudson  River.  In  1713  one  hundred  and  tifty  families  of  these  settled 
in  Schoharie,  and  in  1717,  and  again  in  1727,  large  nunibers  more  planted 
themselves  in  different  parts  of  Penn.sylvania.  This  Colony  was  for  a  long 
time  without  a  regular  ministry,  but,  as  many  of  them  possessed  the  truly 
Christian   spirit,  the}'   kept  up   public  worship,  sustaining  their  services 

*  Various  publications  of  Dr.  Sihmiickor.—  Karly  Historjof  the  Lutheran  Church 
in  America,  by  C.  W.  Sehaelfcr,  D.  U.— Hriuf  Sketc-h  of  the  American  Lutheran 
Chureh,  l)y  Professor  Stoever;  also  his  Discourse  l>e fore  the  Historical  Society  of 
the  Lutheran  Chureh,  1862.— Lutheran  Almanac  for  various  years. 

1 


b  HISTORICAL   INTRODUCTION. 

sometimes  by  reading  devotional  books,  which  tliey  had  brought  with  them 
from  Germany,  and  sometimes  by  putting  their  school-masters  forward  to 
perform  the  office  of  Preachers  of  the  Gospel.  During  the  twelve  years 
immediately  pieceding  the  arrival  of  Dr  Henry  Melchior  Muhlenberg,  in 
1742,  the  Germans  were  often  favored  with  the  gratuitous  labors  of  the 
Swedish  Ministers. 

The  fourth  settlement  of  Lutherans  in  this  countiy  was  that  of  the 
Saltzburgers,  who  established  themselves  in  Georgia  in  the  year  17o;5,  and, 
in  testimony  of  their  gratitude  for  the  Divine  protection,  called  the  place 
of  their  residence  Ebenezer.  These  emigrants  came  hither  to  escape  Romish 
persecution,  and  to  find  a  place  in  these  Western  wilds  where  they  could 
freely  worship  God — pecuniary  aid  being  afforded  them  by  the  British  So- 
ciety for  the  Promotion  of  Christianity.  Their  first  Pastors  were  Messrs. 
Bolzius  and  Gronau.  In  1T38  these  Colonists,  b}^  the  powerful  aid  of  George 
Whitefield,  erected  the  f\ir-fixmed  Orphan  House  at  Ebenezer.  Many  of 
the  descendants  of  these  people  are  still  connected  with  the  Lutheran 
Church  in  the  South. 

Not  long  after  the  settlement  of  the  Saltzburgers,  numerous  Germans 
from  Pennsylvania  and  other  Provinces  migrated  to  North  Carolina,  where 
they  formed  a  Lutheran  community  that  has  been  extending  with  the  lapse 
of  years.  In  1735  a  settlement  of  Lutherans  was  formed  in  Virginia,  sup 
posed  to  be  the  church  in  Madison  County,  but  there  were  some  circum- 
stances attending  it  which  proved  unfavorable  as  well  to  its  numerical  as 
its  spiritual  growth.  In  1739  a  few  Germans  made  their  way  to  Waldo- 
borough,  Maine,  who  were  subsequently  joined  by  several  hundred  more  ; 
but,  the  title  to  their  land  proving  unsound,  many  of  them,  after  a  while, 
withdrew,  and  the  Colony  never  prospered. 

The  most  important  of  these  several  Colonies  was  that  which  planted 
itself  originally  in  Pennsylvania,  and  gradually  worked  its  way  into  sev- 
eral of  the  neighboring  States.  In  1743  this  body  of  Lutherans,  and,  in- 
deed, the  cause  of  Lutheranism  throughout  the  country,  was  greatly 
strengthened  by  the  arrival  of  the  Rev.  Henry  Melchior  Muhlenberg  from 
Germany,  a  man  of  extraordinary  powers  and  high  culture,  and  intense 
devotion  to  his  work,  whose  labors  were  probably  more  influential  in 
moulding  the  destinies  of  the  Lutheran  Church  than  those  of  any  other 
individual  have  ever  been.  Educated,  as  he  had  been,  in  the  school  of 
Francke,  and  possessing  a  large  measure  of  the  spirit  of  that  illustrious 
man,  he  became,  by  common  consent,  the  leader  of  his  denomination,  la- 


HISTORICAL   INTRODUCTION.  7 

boring  in  season  and  out  of  season  to  sustain  the  interests  of  evangelical 
religion  for  almost  lialf  a  century. 

Muhlenberg  was  soon  joined  by  other  men  of  kindred  spirit  and  excel- 
lent education,  most  of  whom  were,  like  himself,  emigrants  from  Germany. 
Among  them  were  Brunnholtz  and  Lemke,  in  174i5  ;  Ilandschuh,  VVey- 
gandt  and  Hartwig,  the  founder  of  the  Seminary  that  bears  his  name,  in 
1748;  Heintzelman  and  Sehultz,  in  1751;  Gerock,  Ilausil,  Wortman,  Wag- 
ner, Schartlin,  Shrcnk  and  Rauss,  in  1753;  Bagcr,  in  1758;  Voight  and 
Krug,  in  17G4;  Helmuth  and  Schmidt,  in  17(39 ;  and  Kunze,  in  1770. 

When  the  first  Lutheran  Synod  was  held,  in  1748,  there  were  only  eleven 
regular  ministers  in  this  country;  but  three  years  afterwards  there  were 
reckoned  about  forty  congregations. 

The  most  of  these  men  were  fcmiu6ntly  devoted  ministers,  but  Ibey  were 
compelled  to  prosecute  their  laboi's  amidst  manifold  discouragements,  grow- 
ing out  of  the  unsettled  state  of  the  country,  the  dissolute  habits  of  not  a 
small  part  of  the  population,  and  coustant  exposure  to  the  barbarity  of  the 
Indians.  During  the  War  of  the  Revolution  the  Lutheran  Church,  in  com- 
mon with  other  denominations,  was  temporarilj^  retarded  in  its  growth, 
though  it  subsequently  shared  in  the  happy  results  which  that  grand  enter- 
prise was  destined  to  work  out. 

In  1786  the  number  of  L.utheran  ]\Iinisters  in  the  Middle  Slates  was 
twenty-four.  From  that  time  till  1820,  when  the  General  Synod  was  formed, 
there  was  a  very  considerable  increase  of  the  number  both  of  congregations 
and  of  ministers,  though  the  standard  of  theological  education,  owing  to 
the  want  of  a  suitable  institution  for  the  purpose,  was  far  from  l)eing  ele- 
vated, and  there  was  a  proportional  depression  in  the  tone  of  piety  in  most 
of  the  churches.  Previous  to  the  formation  of  the  General  Synod,  in  1^20. 
the  Church  bad  gradually  become  divided  into  five  or  six  different,  distant 
and  unconnected  Synods.  There  were  serious  difficulties  to  be  encountered 
in  bringing  these  several  bodies  together  as  an  harmonious  whole,  but  the 
result  has  proved  most  auspicious  to  the  interests  of  Lutheranism  through- 
out the  country. 

The  Form  of  Government  adopted  from  the  beginning  by  the  Lutheran 
Churches  in  this  country  recognizes  "  the  parity  of  Ministers,  the  co-oper- 
ation of  the  Laity  in  Church  Government,  and  the  free,  voluntary  conven- 
tion of  Synods."  Such  was  the  character  of  the  first  Synod,  held  in  Phil- 
adelphia in  1748.  It  was  composed  of  a  due  proportion  of  lay  delegates, 
who  shared  equally  with  the  Clergy  in  the  transaction  of  business.     In  the 


8  HISTORICAL    INTRODUCTION. 

discipline  of  the  Church,  Muhlenberg  adopted  substantially  the  Congrega- 
tional mode,  which  has  always  been  adhered  to  till  the  present  time. 

The  Creed  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  as  it  exists  in  this  country,  is  em- 
bodied in  the  Augsburg  Confession. 

As  to  Forms  of  WorsJnj)  and  Church  Order,  the  Lutheran  Church  retains 
and  observes  the  festivals  of  Christmas,  Good  Friday,  Easter,  the  Ascension 
and  Whitsunday.  She  also  maintains  the  institution  of  Infant  Church- 
membership  aiid  Baptism,  and,  in  connection  with  it,  the  rite  of  Confirm- 
ation. Cathechetical  instruction  is  considered  as  an  important  part  of 
pastoral  duty.  At  least  once  a  year  the  Minister  is  expected  to  hold  a 
series  of  meetings  with  those  who  are  applicants  for  admission  to  the  Sac- 
rament of  the  Lord's  Supper,  or  to  the  rite  of  Confirmation,  and  with  all 
who  feel  a  special  concern  for  their  salvation.  At  the  close  of  these  meet- 
ings, which  are  generally  continued  once  or  twice  a  week,  through  a  period 
of  from  six  to  twelve  weeks,  the  catechumens  are  examined  in  respect  to 
their  qualifications  for  Communion. 

The  following  is  the  statistical  view  of  the  condition  of  the  Lutheran 
Church  in  the  United  States  in  1877-78 : 

56  Synods;  i905  Ministers;  5004  Churches;  650,000  Communicants;  22 
English  Periodicals,  31  German,  8  Norwegian,  3  Danish,  7  Swedish — total 
71;  16  Theological  Seminaries;  18  Colleges;  22  Orphan  Houses,  Infirma- 
ries and  Hospitals. 


Fifty  Years  in  the  Lutheran  Ministry. 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  Leading  Men  of  Fifty  Years  Ago. 

In  1826,  to  whicli  period  these  reminiscences  extend,  there 
were  fewer  than  two  hundred  Lutheran  ministers  in  the  United 
States,  and  these  were  limited  to  the  States  of  New  York,  Penn- 
sylvania, Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina, 
Georgia,  Tennessee  and  Ohio.  They  had  divided  themselves  into 
eight  small  Synods,  but,  for  the  most  part,  they  were  united  in 
sentiment.  They  had  an  immense  field  to  cultivate,  and  much 
ignorance,  prejudice  and  religious  apathy  to  encounter.  Our 
people,  though  as  a  class  thrifty,  honest  and  quiet,  were  to  a 
great  extent  behind  other  communities  in  intelligence,  enterprize 
and  education.  Not  a  few  of  our  ministers  also  were  men  of 
superficial  training,  and  the  wonder  is  not  that  we  have  not  made 
further  progress  in  the  course  of  years,  but  that  with  the  formi- 
dable and  peculiar  obstructions  in  our  way,  the  prejudice  of  for- 
eigners, the  ignorance  of  natives,  the  parsimony  of  both,  the 
spiritual  deadness,  the  formality  of  worship,  the  incompetence  of 
not  a  few  of  the  clergy,  the  insane  opposition  to  the  introduction 
of  the  English  language  into  the  services  of  the  sanctuary,  the 
indifference  to  the  support  of  religious  literature,  the  lack  of 
sympathy  with  the  religious  activity  of  some  other  denominations 
■which  prevailed  to  a  great  extent — I  say,  that  with  all  these,  and 
still  other  difficulties,  constantly  encountered  by  the  working 
ministers  of  those  early  days  and  for  years  subsequent!}',  the 
wonder  is  that  our  men  have  accomplished  so  much.  No  intel- 
ligent man  will  deny  that  this  was  the  condition  of  thing.s  to  a 
great  extent  fifty  years  ago,  and  no  hone.st  hisloi'ian  will  con- 
ceal it. 


10  FIFTY   YEARS    IX    THE    LUTHEKAN    MINISTRY. 

Even  a  superficial  glance  at  the  state  of  the  church  now,  in 
contrast  with  what  it  was  then,  will  satisfy  any  candid  observer 
that  the  true  men  of  those  days  deserve  unspeakable  credit  for 
preparing  the  way  for  the  improved  and  encouraging  condition 
of  things  which  we  happily  see  at  the  present  time.  They  strug- 
gled against  mighty  odds,  but  they  persevered,  and  their  descen- 
dants now  enj_oy  the  results  of  their  self-denial  and  devotedness. 

Fifty  years  ago,  the  leading  older  ministers  in  the  church 
were,  John  George  Schmucker,  of  York,  Pa.;  Frederick  David 
SchaefFer,  of  Philadelphia ;  John  Daniel  Kurtz,  of  Baltimore ; 
George  Lochman,  of  Harrisburg,  Pa.;  Christian  Endress,  of  Lan- 
caster, Pa.;  Frederick  William  Geissenhainer,  of  New  York  ;  Gott- 
leib  Shober,  of  North  Carolina;  Pj^uI  Henkle,  of  Virginia;  John 
Frederick  Ruthrauif,  of  Franklin  county,  Pa.;  Henry  Augustus 
Muhlenberg,  of  Reading,  Pa.;  and  William  Baetes. 

I  call  them  leadwg  men,  not  because  they  were  all  the  most 
learned  or  the  only  efficient  of  our  clergy  of  that  day,  but  because 
most  of  them,  from  their  geographical  proximity  and  influential 
position,  took  a  more  or  less  active  part  in  shaping  the  church  of 
that  day  into  something  like  symmetrical  harmony  and  evangeli- 
cal activity,  and  I  mention  these  only  because  it  was  my  privilege 
as  an  ecclesiastical  neophyte  to  see  them  all  and  to  know  several 
of  them  very  intimately  in  subsequent  years.  It  is  my  purpose 
to  record  only  that  which  I  have  seen  or  heard  during  my  "  Fifty 
Years."     I  may  occasionally  deviate,  but  not  often. 

There  were  not  a  few  younger  men  of  that  generation,  who  were 
following  their  noble  predecessors  in  the  path  of  usefulness  and 
devotedness  to  the  interests  of  the  church,  whose  names  and  ser- 
vices shall  be  commemorated  in  a  subsequent  chapter,  but  they 
cannot  be  reckoned  among  the  "  fathers "  of  fifty  years  ago. 
They  were  the  rising  and' promising  sons,  who  zealously  carried 
on  their  work  side  by  side  with  the  venerated  "ancients"  whose 
names  ax^e  recorded  above. 

I  shall  proceed  to  give  mere  outline  sketches  of  these  men.  not 
biographies,  for  I  have  not  room  for  that,  but  the  chief  charac- 
teristics of  these  servants  of  the  Lord,  so  that  the  Lutherans  of 
modern  times  may  learn  what  sort  of  men  our  fathers  were.  In 
these  and  subsequent  sketches  of  distinguished  laborers  in  our 
apostolic  church,  the  propriety  of  confining  myself  to  those  who 
are  deceased  will  be  aj)parent. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  11 

For  many  of  the  facts  concerning  these  men,  whom  I  did  not 
know  intimately,  I  am  indebted  to  "  Spragu.es  Annals  of  the 
Lutheran  FuIjjU,"  which  are  authentic,  because  furnished  to  that 
distinguishe<l  annalist  b}'  our  own  ministers,  and  because  many  of 
our  ministers  and  people  have  never  seen  Dr.  Sprague's  impartial 
and  invaluable  book.  For  sketches  of  more  modern  men,  which 
will  appear  subsequently,  besides  my  own  personal  reminiscences, 
I  am  indebted  to  the  liberality  of  some  of  my  clerical  brethren, 
and  to  those  masterly  pen  and  ink  portraits  of  many  of  our  de- 
ceased ministers  drawn  by  the  lamented  Professor  Stoever,  in  the 
Evangelical  Eeview,  whom  I  designated  some  ^^ears  ago  as  the 
Plutarch  of  the  Lutheran  Church  of  America. 

DR.  JOHN   GEORGE   SCHMUCKER 

was  my  pastor  when  I  was  a  boy,  and,  as  he  lived  until  1854,  I 
was  intimatelv  a.ssociated  with  him  in  various  enterprizes  of  the 
church. 

He  was  a  model  of  christian  courtesy,  and  a  finished  gentleman. 
His  temper  was  amiable,  and  his  entire  deportment  discreet  and 
dignified.  He  never  censured  any  one  severely,  and  was  most 
tender  towards  the  faults  of  others.  He  was  kind  to  young 
preachers,  and  indulgent  in  his  criticism.  I  never  heard  him  ut- 
ter an  objectionable  word,  and  he  never  related  a  story  that  was 
not  perfectly  pure. 

As  a  student  all  his  life  through,  he  was  diligent,  and  as  a 
reader  he  was  discriminating  and  untiring;  as  a  theologian,  he 
belonged  to  the  old  Lutheran  school,  although  he  never  intro- 
duced that  subject  for  the  sake  of  controversy.  It  was  from  him 
that  I  first  learned  the  scriptural  doctrine  of  the  Lord's  supper 
as  maintained  by  the  church.  I  distinctly  remember  the  day  on 
which  his  rich  elucidation  of  the  truth  was  made  to  me.  It  was 
in  my  student  years,  and  one  vacation  day,  when,  in  his  study,  he 
began  and  unfolded  to  me  in  language  never  forgotten,  the  sub- 
lime doctrine  taught  by  Luther,  and  which  with  more  or  less 
power  has  influenced  my  theological  tendency  ever  since.  Some- 
times, owing  to  adverse  associations,  my  faith  was  shaken,  but 
when  I  got  free  from  the  influence  of  living  teacher's,  and  began 
independent  investigation,  my  old  pastor's  interpretation  of  the 
scripture  argument  would  come  back  with  redoubled  force. 


12  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

He  was  born  in  the  Duchy  of  Darmstadt,  Germany,  in  1771, 
and  came  to  this  country  with  his  parents  in  1785,  who,  after 
having  lived  in  Northampton  and  Lancaster  counties  for  two 
years,  moved  to  Shenandoah  county,  Virginia ;  he  began  his 
studies  for  the  ministry  under  Rev.  Paul  Henkle,  but,  in  1790,  he 
repaired  to  Philadelphia,  and  became  the  student  of  Rev.  Drs. 
Helmuth  and  Schmidt,  where  he  remained  two  years.  In  1792 
he  took  pastoral  charge  of  several  congregations  in  York  county. 
During  his  residence  here  he  continued  the  study  of  the  Hebrew 
language,  and  of  theology,  with  the  aid  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Goering, 
who  was  then  tke  pastor  at  York,  and  who  was  regarded  as  among 
the  learned  ministers  of  his  time. 

In  1792  he  accepted  a  call  to  Hagerstown,  Md.,  in  his  twenty- 
second  year;  so  youthful  was  his  appearance,  and  so  pale  and  ema- 
eiatcGl  his  face,  that  he  was  sportively  designated  the  hoy  preacher. 

At  the  death  of  Dr.  Kunze,  in  1807,  he  was  called  to  succeed 
him  in  the  city  of  New  York,  which  he  declined. 

In  1809  he  became  the  successor  of  Mr.  Goering,  in  the  borougli 
of  York,  Avhere  he  remained  until  1852,  when  he  removed  to 
Williamsburg,  Pa.,  where  several  of  his  children  resided,  and 
where  he  died  in  October,  1854,  in  the  eighty-fourth  year  of  his 
age,  and  was  buried  in  York. 

In  1825  he  received  the  degree  of  D.  D.  from  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania. 

Dr.  Schmucker  occupied  many  important  places,  and  rendered 
much  valuable  service  in  connection  with  the  public  interests  of 
the  church.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  and  most  zealous  advo- 
cates of  the  General  Lutheran  Synod.  He  was  President  of  the 
Foreign  Missionary  Society  from  its  formation  till  a  short  time 
before  his  death,  when  he  declined  a  re-election.  He  was  also 
the  early  and  active  supporter  of  the  Theological  Seminary  of 
the  General  Synod,  and,  for  many  years,  served  as  President  of 
its  Board  of  Directors.  He  had  an  important  agency  in  the  es- 
tablishment of  Pennsylvania  College,  and,  for  more  than  twenty 
years  acted  as  a  Trustee.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  the 
Senior  Vice  President  of  the  American  Tract  Society.  Various 
other  benevolent  institutions  found  in  him  an  efficient  auxiliary. 

I  will  here  insert  a  letter  furnished  by  me  for  "  Spi^ugnes,  An- 
Tials^"  which  will  be  followed  by  s.eYeral  others: 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTIIERAK    MINISTRY.  13 

Bai-timoke,  April  14,  IWl. 

Dear  Sir  :  My  earliest  recolleotions  are  associated  with  Dr. 
Schmucker,  of  York.  As  a  boy  I  was  conducted  to  bis  church 
every  Sunday,  where,  with  other  boys,  I  sat  on  the  foot-board  of 
the  circular  railing  that  enclosed  the  communion  table.  Though 
not  undei'standing  a  word  of  his  sermons  at  that  time,  which 
were  German,  yet  there  I  sat  every  Sunday,  a  silent  and  some- 
times sleeping,  if  not  a  profited,  hearer.  This  was  more  years 
ago  than  I  care  about  telling;  and  I  mention  it  only  in  connec- 
tion with  the  lasting  impression  which  his  personal  appearance  of 
that  period  made  upon  my  juvenile  mind.  He  was  of  a  compact 
frame,  firm  and  elastic  step,  hair  dark  as  a  raven,  and  eye  black 
and  glistening  like  anthracite  coal.  His  voice  was  strong,  though 
not  loud,  and  of  touching  tenderness.  Even  many  years  later  it 
did  not  lose  this  admirable  quality,  and  it  was  "  as  good  as  a  ser- 
mon "  to  hear  him  lead  the  singing  of  one  of  those  good  old  Ger- 
man hymns  in  the  prayer-meetings.  There  was  a  peculiar 
softness  and  impressive  tremulousness  in  its  tones  which  ring  in 
my  ears  even  to  this  day. 

As  I  grew  up  and  became  his  companion  during  my  student 
life,  I  could  appreciate  the  fine  qualities  of  his  character  more 
distinctly.  I  never  spent  an  hour  Avith  him  without  learning 
something  useful.  He  poured  forth  his  stores  of  practical  wis- 
dom, theological  learning,  rich  personal  experience  and  instructive 
anecdote,  without  effort  or  display. 

His  disinterestedness  was  remarkable,  and  his  fear  of  giving 
ofFenct!  was  sometimes,  as  I  think,  carried  to  extremes.  On  one 
occasion  that  occurs  to  me,  he  sacrificed  his  better  judgment  to 
his  apprehension  of  blame,  in  deciding  the  location  of  an  institu- 
tion of  learning  by  his  vote.  He-  feared  he  would  be  charged 
with  acting  from  interested  motives  if  he  voted  differently.  And 
yet,  when  deep  principle  was  involved,  he  was  unflinchingly  firm. 
In  the  early  days  of  the  Temperance  movement  he  braved  the 
fierce  opposition  and  even  threats  of  his  warmest  personal  friends 
and  most  liberal  supporters. 

Though  not  superstitious,  he  was  not  entirely  free  from  belief 
in  supernatural  influences.  If  his  mind  had  not  been  well  bal- 
anced, he  was  just  the  man  to  be  wrought  on  by  the  presumed 
revelations  of  modern  Spirituali-sm.  I  believe  this  infirmity  was 
fostered  by  his  high  admiration  of,  and  thorough  acquaintance 


14  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

with,  some  of  the  mystic  tlaeologians  of  the  hist  century,  especially 
.Jung  Stilling. 

Quite  unintentionally,  and  to  his  great  annoyance,  he  once  ac- 
quired the  reputation  of  being  a  semi-miraculous  healer  of  wens, 
warts,  and  similar  ugly  excrescences.  On  one  occasion  a  plain 
countrj'man  came  into  his  study  and  complained  of  a  wen  on  his 
head.  "  Let  me  see  it,"  said  the  Doctor.  He  examined  it,  as  a 
matter  of  curiosity,  and  touched  it.  The  man  declared  that, 
from  that  moment,  it  began  to  diminish  until  it  disappeared 
altogether.  His  neighbors  heard  of  it,  and,  for  miles  around,  all 
who  were  affected  with  similar  unnatural  protuberances,  hastened 
to  the  "  Pastor"  to  be  healed  by  the  magic  touch ;  and  it  required 
some  effort  to  convince  the  simple  people  that  he  possessed  no 
supernatural  powers,  and  he  dismissed  them  to  their  deep  chagrin. 

I  remember  the  first  English  sermon  he  preached.  It  was  quite 
an  event  m  the  church.  I  do  not  mean  the  sermon,  but  the  fact. 
Every  body  knew  he  was  fully  competent  to  the  task ;  but  the 
introduction  of  a  new  language  into  the  church  was  an  epoch  in 
its  history.  The  spacious  house  was  crowded.  The  members  of 
other  churches  left  their  own  to  hear  Dr.  Schmucker  preach  Eng- 
lish. They  and  his  own  people  were  anxious  to  hear  whether 
those  church  walls  would  echo  English  sounds.  It  was  a  success 
— the  sermon  was  an  admirable  defence  of  the  Inspiration  of  the 
Bible,  and  an  eminent  lawyer  of  the  place  was  so  deeply  interest- 
ed in  it  that  he  sent  for  it  the  next  day  for  his  private  perusal 
and  study.  The  Doctor,  after  this,  continued  to  preach  English 
several  times  a  month,  until  he  secured  an  assistant.  The  Eng- 
lish service  was  designated  to  the  town  people  by  a  peculiar  ring- 
ing of  the  bells,  so  that  the  sexton  would  always  go  to  the 
Doctor's  house  of  a  Sunday  evening  and  ask  whether  he  was  to 
"ring  English  or  German." 

If  the  Doctor  had,  in  early  life,  cultivated  his  talent  for  poe- 
try, he  would  have -excelled  in  that  department. 

He  was  one  of  the  most  unaffectedly  polite  men  I  ever  knew. 
There  was  no  superfluous  bowing  and  scraping  and  fulsome  com- 
plimenting, but  he  was  so  regardful  for  the  feelings  of  others,  so 
careful  to  avoid  wounding  them,  so  forbearing  towards  their 
faults,  so  condescending  to  inferiors,  and  so  patient  with  gain- 
sayers,  as  to  compel  their  admiration  and  respect. 

As  a  preacher  no  man  was  more  methodical,  logical  and  im- 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  15 

pressive.  His  extreme  observance  of  system  in  his  sermons  often 
verged  on  stiffness.  Every  thing  seemed  to  be  laid  down  by  rule 
and  compass,  and  bis  hearers  were  so  accustomed  to  his  regular 
divisions  as  to  length  and  place,  that,  at  the  conclusion  of  each, 
there  was  a  general  shifting  of  position  and  other  demonstrations 
of  relief  from  protracted  and  absorbed  attention.  At  the  an- 
nouncement of  the  next  head  or  division,  the  whole  congregation 
would  subside  into  the  most  fixed  and  silent  listening  to  his  well- 
set  argument  and  tender  appeal. 

His  extremely  defective  vision  prevented  him  from  reading  his 
proof  texts  from  the  Pulpit  Bible,  and  hence,  for  that  purpose,  he 
always  used  a  small  copy,  which  he  was  obliged  to  hold  close  up 
to  his  eyes. 

As  a  Pastor,  he  was  faithful,  affectionate  and  tender ;  as  a  mem- 
ber of  Synod  and  other  Church  Bodies,  he  was  judicious,  atten- 
tive and  influential ;  as  a  friend,  firm,  candid  and  instructive  ;  and, 
as  a  promoter  of  benevolent  and  literary  enterprises,  active,  lib- 
eral and  successful.  Very  truly  yours, 

John  G.  Morris. 

from  the  rev.  samuel  s.  schmucker,  d.  d. 

Theologicai,  SEMtxATtY,  GEriYSBURG,  December  24,18.57. 

In  person,  my  father  was  of  about  the  medium  stature,  rather 
thick  set,  though  not  corpulent ;  his  eyes  were  deep  seated,  and, 
like  his  hair,  jet  black.  His  complexion  was  dark  ;  his  constitu- 
tion vigorous ;  and,  even  in  old  age,  his  person  was  very  erect, 
and  his  bodily  movements,  whilst  they  were  deliberate  and  digni- 
fied, were  also  prompt  and  firm.  His  countenance  was  expressive 
of  great  amiability,  benevolence  and  dignity,  whilst  his  keen 
black  eye  and  well  developed  head  indicated  the  excellence  of 
his  intellectual  powers.  His  character  was  unusually  symmetri- 
cal and  well  balanced,  and  his  temper  so  uniformly  placid  that  I 
have  scarcely  ever  seen  it  ruffled  by  the  most  trying  annoyances 
of  life.  He  had  a  quick  sensibility  for  the  sufierings  of  human- 
ity. Nor  did  his  sympathy  evaporate  in  mere  mental  emotion — 
he  was  also  a  generous  and  active  friend  of  the  poor,  the  afflicted 
and  the  oppressed,  in  our  own  and  foreign  lands.  Of  the  expan- 
siveness  of  his  benevolence  I  will  state  a  single  example.  When 
the  Or])han  House  at  Halle,  in  Germany,  was  almost  destroyed 
during  the  Bonapartean  Wars,  so  strong  was  his  sympathy  for 


16  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

that  suffering  institution,  whose  alumni  were  the  chief  founders 
of  our  Church  in  this  country,  that  his  response  to  the  appeal  of 
its  Directors  to  our  churches  in  this  Western  world  for  pecuniary 
aid  was  the  most  liberal  of  all  our  ministers.  He  was  possessed 
of  strong  common  sense,  great  discernment  of  character  and 
singular  soundness  of  judgment.  Though  modest  and  unassuming, 
he  was  distinguished  for  conscientiousness  and  moral  courage,  was 
unwavering  in  his  defence  of  truth  and  righteousness,  and  an  un- 
faltering friend  of  the  great  moral  reforms  of  the  day.  Of  this 
his  noble  defence  of  the  Temperance  cause  in  its  infancy,  when 
not  only  the  populace  generally,  but  the  majority  of  professing 
Christians,  and  even  some  of  the  neighboring  ministers  of  the 
Gospel,  were  yet  opposed  to  it,  affords  a  striking  example.  So 
violent  was  this  opposition  amongst  the  German  community  at 
large  (they  regarding  it  as  an  attempt  to  infringe  upon  their 
civil  rights),  that  some  even  menaced  personal  violence;  and  so 
extensive  amongst  his  own  church  members  that  their  contribu- 
tions to  his  salary  fell  off  one-half  during  that  year.  He,  how- 
ever, faltered  not ;  gradually  the  truth  gained  the  victory,  and, 
in  a  few  years,  he,  who  had  previously  enjoyed  the  jDublic  confi- 
dence in  an  unusual  degree,  found  it  again  reposed  in  himself  in 
a  higher  measure  than  before. 

He  was  warmly  attached  to  the  great  National  Societies  of  our 
land,  in  which  different  Chi-istian  denominations  co-operate,  such 
as  the  American  Bible  and  Tract  Societies.  He  was  especially 
interested  in  the  operations  of  the  American  Tract  Society,  and 
regarded  that  mass  of  truth  taught  in  its  publications,  and  held 
by  the  Evangelical  denominations  in  common,  as  the  grand  instru- 
mentality for  the  conversion  of  the  world.  Yet,  he  w%as  warmly 
attached  to  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church,  as  organized  under 
the  Biblical  constitution  of  our  General  Synod.  He  was  an  at- 
tentive student  of  the  Prophetic  Scriptures,  as  well  as  a  careful 
observer  of  the  signs  of  the  times,  and  wrote  with  acknowledged 
ability  on  both  topics. 

As  a  Preacher  he  w^as  eloquent,  instructive  and  impressive, 
generally  fixing  the  attention  of  the  audience  to  his  subject  and 
holding  it  there  to  the  close  of  his  discourse.  He  was  especially 
a  good  textuary.  He  enriched  his  discourses  with  copious  cita- 
tions of  Scripture  proof  and  illustration,  not  unfrequently  nam- 
ing the  chapter  and  verse.     Few  men  emjjloyed  the  jDower  of  the 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTIIERAN    MINISTRY.  17 

•nulpit  more  fiiithfully  in  reproving  current  vices.  Soon  after  his 
removal  to  York,  he  learned  that  some  ten  or  more  of  the  most 
respectable  and  influential  citizens  of  the  town,  who  were  also 
professedly  members  of  his  church,  were  in  the  habit  of  meeting 
freipiently  for  the  purpose  of  playing  cards  as  an  innocent  diver- 
sion. This  he  deemed  highly  criminal,  not  only  as  a  waste  of 
time,  wdiich  Christians  should  apply  to  better  use,  but  as  an  ex- 
ample calculated  to  sanction  and  encourage  the  gambling  habits 
of  the  young  and  profligate.  After  repeated  but  fruitless  private 
admonition,  he  determined  on  another  and  more  hazardous  meas- 
ure to  break  up  the  practice,  which  was  generally  known  to  the 
community.  On  the  ensuing  Sabbath  he  introduced  the  subject 
into  the  pulpit,  and  exposed  the  evils  of  the  practice  in  so  fear- 
less a  manner,  and  with  such  distinct  allusion  to  th?  parties  con- 
cerned, that  I  well  remember  seeing  members  turning  round 
in  the  church  and  looking  at  the  offenders,  whilst  a  sensation  of 
surprise  and  concern  filled  many  minds,  all  expecting  disturbance 
in  the  church,  and  offence  to  the  families  concerned,  as  the  result 
of  the  discourse.  The  effect,  how'ever,  ■svas  favorable.  The  prac- 
tice was  abandoned  ;  and,  although  the  parties  felt  individually 
aggrieved  at  the  exposure,  they  made  no  public  demonstration 
against  the  Preacher,  and  eveijtually  admitted  the  justice  and 
propriety  of  his  course. 

Sacred  Music  and  Poetry  found  a  deep  response  in  his  heart. 
He  also  occasionally  committed  some  Hymns  and  other  poetical 
effusions  to  the  press,  which,  if  they  do  not  prove  him  a  special 
favorite  of  the  Muses,  are  distinguished  for  ease  and  smoothness 
of  versification,  as  well  as  the  deep-toned  piety  which  they 
breathe. 

As  a  Pastor,  he  was  most  laborious  and  faithful.  Such  was  his 
punctuality  in  attending  the  Judicatories  of  the  Church  that  his 
presence  was  calculated  on  by  all  as  a  matter  of  course  ;  and  such 
were  his  administrative  talents  that  he  was  repeatedly  elected  to 
the  highest  offices  of  the  Church.  He  was  an  ardent  friend  of  the 
General  Synod — was  one  of  its  original  founders,  and,  ever  after 
among  its  ablest  defenders.  In  short,  for  about  thirty  years  he 
was  one  of  the  leading  minds  in  our  American  Lutheran  Church, 
was  actively  engaged  in  all  her  important  measures,  and  was  ever 
known  as  the  firm  champion  of  piety  and  of  revivals  of  religion, 
as  well  as  of  all  such  enterprises  as  tend  to  advance  the  spiritual 


18  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

triumphs  of  the  Kfideemer  in  the  Church  universal.  His  own 
ministry  was  blest  not  only  by  numerous  conversions  occurring 
every  year,  but  by  five  or  six  special  outpourings  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  each  resulting  in  the  conversion  of  multitudes  of  souls.  In 
one  of  these  revivals,  the  number  of  converts  was  so  large  that  they 
divided  themselves  into  three  classes,  and  each  conducted  a  sepa- 
rate weekly  prayer-meeting  in  a  different  part  of  the  congregation. 

A  striking  trait  in  my  father's  character  was  the  depth  of  his 
religipias  experience,  and  his  unusually  advanced  progress  in  the 
Divine  life.  The  following  remarks,  which  I  find  written  by  his 
own  hand  in  his  pocket  Greek  Testament,  will  throw  some  light 
on  his  internal  religious  history  : 

"  1.  From  the  time  of  my  conversion  in  my  eighteenth  year, 
my  life  was,  though  in  different  degrees,  a  continual  prayer,  a 
longing  and  sighing  after  God.  2.  It  was  a  continual  repentance, 
on  account  of  my  sins  and  the  depravity  of  my  heart.  3.  It  was 
a  continual  longing  after  the  holiness  and  grace  to  live  according 
to  the  will  of  God.  4.  A  continual  longing  for  union  and  com- 
munion with  God.  5.  Through  life  I  had  a  continued  desire  for 
the  conversion  of  souls,  which  influenced  every  sermon  I  preached, 
though  it  was  often  defiled  by  the  intermixture  of  selfish  aims. 
6.  I  had  a  constant  desire  for  the  society  of  the  pious.  7.  At 
the  same  time,  I  had  many  infirmities  and  sins,  and  all  my  vir- 
tues were  defective.  In  1840  I  enjoyed  a  special  manifestation  of 
the  Divine  love  shed  abroad  in  my  heart,  which  was  exceedingly 
refreshing  to  me.  And,  soon  after,  I  had  also  a  special  view  of 
the  Divine  majesty  and  goodness.  In  1841 1  had  an  extraordinary 
view  of  Christ,  and  beheld  his  image,  as  it  were,  in  the  chamber 
of  my  soul." 

For  several  months  before  his  death,  he  was  much  abstracted 
from  the  world,  and  engaged  in  almost  constant  communion  with 
God.  During  this  time,  he,  on  one  occasion,  was  lying  on  his  bed 
in  the  night-watches,  and  called,  to  my  mother,  who  was  at  his 
side — "  Oh,  if  you  could  see  what  I  have  seen  beyond  the  Jor- 
dan of  death,  how  happy  you  would  be!"  Such  was  the  holy 
frame  of  mind  in  which  he.  awaited  the  call  of  his  Redeemer,  and 
such  the  foretaste  vouchsafed  to  him  of  his  future  inheritance 
until  he  calmly  3'ielded  his  life  into  his  Eedeemer's  hands. 
Very  fraternally  yours, 

S.    S.    SCHMUCKER. 


FIFTY    YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  19 

FROM    REV.    J.    ALLEN    BROWN,    D.    D. 

PROFESSOR   IN  THK  THKOI-OOICAr.  SEMINARY,  OETTYSIJUIIG,   PA. 

Gettyshi.'uo  Tmeoi-ooical  Seminary,  Match  30,  Ififiii. 

My  Dear  Sir:  In  coinj^^lying  with  the  request  to  furnish  .some- 
thing touching  the  kite  venerable  Dr.  J.  G.  Schmucker,  I  will 
confine  myself  strictly  to'  my  own  personal  recollections ;  and, 
as  these  extend  only  over  a  small  part  of  his  life,  you  will  not  be 
troubled  with  a  very  lengthy  account.  It  affords  me,  however, 
great  pleasure  to  be  able,  even  in  this  humble  way,  to  record  my 
high  regard  for  him  while  living,  and  the  delight  with  which  I 
recall  the  intercourse  with  him  which  I  was  jDrivileged  to  enjoy. 

Our  first  meeting,  which  I  cannot  call  acquaintance,  since  I 
was  then  but  a  youth,  was  in  the  year  18i0,  when  he  was  on  a 
visit  to  his  son-in-law%  Dr.  Sprecher,  at  Middletown,  Pa.  He  had 
already  retired  from  the  active  duties  of  the  Ministry.  As  I 
Avas  then  a  student,  not  yet  entered  college,  I  have  little  recol- 
lection beyond  his  venerable,  dignified  appearance,  his  apparent 
interest  in  study,  and  his  friendly  condescension  to  a  mere  youth. 
Some  remarks  about  theological  opinions,  and  concern  about  Butt- 
mann's  Greek  Grammar,  leave  the  impression  that,  even  at  that 
period,  he  maintained  habits  of  careful  investigation. 

My  acquaintance  proper  began  early  in  the  year  1848,  when  I 
settled  in  York,  Pa.,  where  a  large  part  of  his  life  had  been  spent, 
and  where  it  was  my  lot  to  officiate  in  the  church  of  which  he 
had  been  so  long  Pastor,  and  in  which  he  was  then  a  regular 
worshipper.  During  a  period  of  some  two  years  I  was  a  frequent 
visitor  at  his  house,  sharing  not  only  his  friendship,  but  enjoying 
his  friendly  counsels.  A  few  items,  the  freshest  in  my  memory, 
of  this  venerable  father,  I  will  now  give. 

No  one  who  ever  saw  him  could  forget  his  personal  appearance 
and  manner.  Of  about  medium  stature,  and  singularly  erect  in 
old  age,  with  a  fine  countenance,  and  full  supply  of  hair  in  per- 
fect order,  he  presented  an  appearance  of  dignity  that  was  truly 
commanding;  whilst  his  manner,  combining  gravity  and  softne.ss, 
was  attractive  and  pleasing.  In  his  intercourse  he  exemplified 
the  precept — "  Be  courteous,"  and  was  a  model  of  Christian 
politene.ss.  Nature  and  grace  had  both  contributed  to  the  forma- 
tion of  his  character,  and  the  result  was  one  of  much  beauty  and 
excellence. 


20  FIFTY   YEARS    IN   THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

His  manner  towards  young  preachers  was  very  kind  and  en- 
couraging. Usually  at  the  close  of  the  service  he  had  some  kind 
word  to  cheer.  After  my  first  sermon  in  his  presence,  he  said,  as 
I  came  from  the  pulpit — "  I  think  the  Lord  was  with  you  to- 
day." There  were  no  flippant  criticisms,  no  eulogies  to  gender 
or  nourish  pride,  but  judicious  words  of  counsel  and  encourage- 
ment. On  another  occasion,  after  I  had  preached  on  Matt,  xxviii, 
19,  20,  he  expressed  gratification,  but  said  there  was  too  much  in 
the  text  for  a  single  discourse.  Ii  was  very  evident  that  he  had 
made  preaching  a  study,  and  knew  how  to  divide  the  Word  of 
truth.  His  criticisms  of  some  men,  though  never  harsh,  were 
discerning,  and  showed  that  he  had  detected  the  weak  jDoints. 
He  loved  to  speak  of  the  great  preachers  in  our  own  and  other 
churches,  and  especially  to  tell  of  their  spiritual  power. 

He  was  interested  in  the  study  of  the  Word.  Olshausen,  at 
this  time,  was  a  favorite  commentator  wdth  him.  He  expressed  a 
decided  preference  for  Olshausen  over  Tholuck,  as  more  spiritual 
and  giving  more, of  the  mind  of  the  inspired  w'riter.  Tholuck  he 
regarded  as  too  profuse  in  his  exhibition  of  learned  authorities, 
and  less  instructive  than  Olshausen,  My  first  acquaintance  with 
Olshausen  was  made  with  a  borrowed  volume  from  his  library. 

The  prosperity  of  Zion  and  the  welfare  of  the  country  both 
seemed  to  be  near  his  heart.  He  loved  to  hear  of  what  God  Avas 
doing.  The  cause  of  Christ  at  home  and  abroad  had  his  sympa- 
thies and  his  prayers.  He  believed  that  the  coming  of  the  Mes- 
siah to  reign  over  the  earth  was  drawing  nigh.  The  revolutions 
amoncf  nations  he  regarded  as  preparatory  to  the  establishment  of 
the  Kingdom  which  shall  not  pass  away.  He  was  cheerful,  hope- 
ful, and  looking  forward  with  confidence  in  God. 

But  he  has  gone  to  join  the  band  of  Prophets,  Apostles,  Con- 
fessors and  Ministers  of  Jesus.  His  name  is  fragrant  on  the 
earth,  his  record  was  on  high,  and  he  has  entered  on  his  reward. 

Truly  yours, 

J.  A.  Brown. 

EXTRACT    OF   A    PRIVATE    LETTER    TO    J.    G.    M. 

December,  1876. 

I  used  to  like  to  listen  to  old  Dr.  Schmucker,  as  he  told  of  his 
early  experiences  in  the  West  when  he  was  travelling  in  Ohio  and 
Kentucky,  as  a  candidate.      You  know  the  Synod  used  to  send 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  21 

the  licentiates  as  a  sort  of  circuit  riders,  or  rather  as  exploring 
missionaries,  to  hunt  up  the  scattered  settlers,  baptize  their  chil- 
dren, hold  communion  services  with  them,  and,  when  possible, 
organize  them  into  churches.  Once  Rev.  Schmucker  came  sud- 
denly upon  a  smouldering  camp  fire  that  had  just  been  deserted 
by  a  bivouacking  party  of  a  hostile  tribe  of  Indians.  He  was 
discovered  by  them  just  as  he  turned  to  flee  in  the  direction  from 
which  he  came,  and  they  gave  chase.  I  do  not  remember  how 
many  niiles  he  led  them,  but  it  was  a  long  and  breakneck  .race, 
his  faithful  steed  bringing  him  back  into  the  settlement  just  as 
his  pursuers  were  about  closing  upon  him. 


DR.    JOHN    DANIEL    KURTZ, 

who,  for  fifty  years,  continued  to  be  pastor  of  the  same  church  in 
Baltimore,  became  a  worshipper  with  my  congregation  after  he 
resigned  his  position  as  pastor.  Owing  to  a  sligHt  defect  in  his 
hearing  after  he  had  become  an  old  man,  he  usually  took  his  seat 
beside  me  in  the  pulpit,  that  he  might  hear  more  distinctly,  and, 
he  was  one  of  the  most  attentive  hearers  I  had.  He  was  too 
polite  to  express  any  disapprobation  of  what  was  said,  or  rather 
of  the  manner  which,  doubtless,  he  often  felt,  but  he  would  fre- 
quently signify  his  assent  by  an  undertone  licm  with  ?i  falling  in- 
flection, as  much  as  to  say,  "  All  right  young  man  !  go  on." 

He  was  the  most  blameless  man  I  ever  knew.  He  lived  in  Bal- 
timore nearly  sixty  years,  and  had  encountered  some  troublesome 
spirits  in  his  church,  but  in  all  that  time  not  the  slightest  whis- 
per of  wrong  doing  on  his  part  was  ever  heard,  and  he  went  down 
to  his  grave  with  a  name  untarnished  as  the  whitest  snow.  His 
piety  was  profound,  but  he  seldom  spoke  of  his  religious  experi- 
ence. His  extreme  modesty  forbade  him  to  speak  of  himself  on 
any  occasion,  and  yet  he  once  told  me  when  speaking  of  the  na- 
ture of  conversion,  that  "  He  did  not  remember  the  time  when  he 
did  not  love  God." 

He  was  not,  what  we  now  call,  a  learned  man,  but  still  well 
read  in  the  old  Lutheran  theology,  and  perhaps  more  in  the  prac- 
tical than  the  dogmatical.  He  was  a  diligent  reader  of  the  old  or- 
thodox devotional  books,  and  always  had  one  of  these  precious 
volumes  near  at  hand. 
2 


22  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

In  early  life  lie  paid  some  attention  to  natural  history,  but  the 
want  of  time  and  of  books  j^revented  any  extended  research,  but, 
still  in  our  country  visits,  he  would  let  no  butterfly  or  beetle  escape 
which  he  could  capture,  not  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  it  for  his 
cabinet,  but  to  explain  its  beauties  to  me,  and  it  is  principally  to 
him  that  I  am  indebted  for  my  taste  in  that  same  direction  and 
my  subsequent  operations  in  that  enticing  field  of  study. 

During  one  of  these  visits  to  an  old  country  friend.  Dr.  Kurtz 
returned  from  a  walk  among  the  bushes  and  brambles  of  a  ne- 
glected garden,  and  as  he  approached  the  house  he  was  amazed  at 
the  violent  exclamations  of  the  people,  while  they  pointed  to  his 
feet.  He  looked  down  and  saw  that  a  snake  had  wound  itself 
around  his  leg,  and  of  which  he  was  perfectly  unconscious.  He 
quickly  shook  it  off  and  allowed  it  to  escape,  remarking  that  it 
was  a  harmless  creature,  and  nobody  need  be  frightened  at  it. 

He  contributed  several  excellent  articles  on  Justification  to  the 
old  Evangelisches  Magazin,  published  in  Philadelj^hia  by  Dr. 
Helmuth.  Some  yeaz'S  after,  a  minister  of  our  church  from  the 
country  and  I  were  paying  him  a  visit,  when  the  stranger  inci- 
dentally remarked  that  he  had  lately  been  looking  at  the  old 
"Magazin,"  and  was  delighted  with  several  articles  on  Justifica- 
tion. The  modest  old  doctor  said  not  a  word,  nor  changed 
countenance,  but  I,  who  always  sought  to  honor  him  and  give  him 
his  due,  said,  "  And  you  are  speaking  to  the  author  of  those  arti- 
cles." The  visitor  expressed  his  pleasure  in  knowing  it,  and  was 
proceeding  to  compliment  him  still  further,  but  the  doctor  in- 
stantly changed  the  subject. 

He  had  some  troubles  in  his  church  during  his  long  pastorate, 
but  he  bore  them  all  like  a  christian  martyr,  glad  to  know  that  his 
worst  opponent  could  never  charge  him  with  neglect  of  duty  or 
violation  of  moral  principle.  Upon  his  retirement  from  the  pul- 
pit, the  congregation  voted  him  an  annuity  of  one  thousand  dol- 
lars and  the  use  of  the  parsonage  during  his  life. 

Although  I  have  seen  him  exposed  to  severe  trials  of  patience, 
yet  I  never  saw  him  excited  to  any  degree,  excepting  once.  It 
was  at  a  meeting  of  our  Synod,  when  a  number  of  us  2:>revented 
the  election  of  an  objectionable  candidate  for  the  Presidency  by 
withholding  a  majority.  Five  or  six  elections  were  held,  and 
with  the  same  result.  The  old  gentleman  arose  and  most  severe- 
ly rebuked  us  for  our  obstinacy,  and  for  occasioning  the  loss  of  so 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  23 

much  time.  We  yielded,  and  bore  the  infliction  of  an  incompe- 
tent man  in  the  presidential  chair  for  one  year.  He  died  in  1856, 
in  the  ninety-third  year  of  his  age. 

He  was  the  first  man  I  ever  heard  preach  from  a  text  in  the 
Apocrypha,  but  it  was  a  very  unusual  practice  with  him. 

He  never  preached  English,  but  was  a  vigorous,  systematic  and 
earnest  German  preacher.  He  adhered  all  his  life  time  to  the  old 
pietistic  school  both  in  sentiment  and  arrangement,  and  could 
hold  an  audience  in  silence  and  perfect  attention  for  an  hour.  I 
heard  his  nephew,  the  modern  Dr.  Kurtz,  say,  that  his  uncle  once 
preached  for  him  in  Chambersburg,  when  he  began  his  sermon 
thus :  "  For  over  fifty-five  years  have  I  preached  the  same  unchange- 
able gospel  of  salvation  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  I  have  nothing 
else  to  present  to  you  to-day."  He  then  proceeded  to  tell  them 
what  this  gospel  was,  and  my  narrator  added,  that  this  simple 
declaration,  associated  as  it  was  with  his  earnest  manner  and  voice 
trembling  with  emotion,  his  venerable  appearance  and  yet  una- 
bated vigor  had  an  overwhelming  effect  upon  the  aged  hearers 
present. 

I  was  almost  daily  at  his  bedside  during  his  final  illness,  and  I 
often  told  him  that  I  had  come  to  learn  patience  and  resignation, 
and  not  to  teach  or  support  him.  And  yet  he  would  listen  to  the 
simplest  truths  of  Christianity  with  an  intentness  as  though  he 
did  not  understand  them  better  than  I  did,  and  would  sometimes 
supplement  my  remarks  with  observations,  exhibiting  the  pro- 
foundest  insight  into  the  plan  of  salvation,  and  the  richest  chris- 
tian experience. 

He  was  fond  of  repeating  some  of  those  grand  old  Germaii 
hymns,  w'hich  he  Avould  do  until  perfectly  exhausted.  He  was  a 
good  man,  and  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost.* 


DR.  FREDERICK  DAVID  SCHAEFFER  OF  PHILADELPHIA. 

I  never  had  much  intercourse  with  this  worthy  and  venerated 
father.  I  dined  with  him  once  when  I  was  quite  a  young  man, 
in  company  with  the  sainted  Dr.  Krauth,  and  was  pleased  with 
his  condescending  attention.      A  few  years  later  he  called  on  me 

*See  an  interesting  autobiogrrnphy  in  Lutheran  Observer,  beginning-  in  number 
for  July,  1856;  also.  Evangelical  Review,  1857,  page  519. 


24  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY, 

in  Baltimore,  soon  after  the  death  of  his  son,  Rev.  F.  C.  Schaeffer, 
of  New  York,  of  whom  he  spoke  with  the  most  tender  paternal 
affection.  I  remember,  particularly,  how  gratefully  he  s2:)oke  of 
some  gentleman  in  New  York,  who  offered  the  bereaved  father  a 
place  in  his  vault  in  the  cemetery  for  the  remains  of  the  son,  and 
closed  by  saying  Avith  deep  emotion,  "  We  deposited  his  body  there 
to  await  the  resurrection  of  the  Just." 

I  met  him  subsequently  at  the  house  of  his  son,  David  F.,  in 
Frederick,  but  old  age  had  crept  upon  him,  and  other  circum- 
stances had  combined  to  sadden  the  evening  of  his  days. 

From  his  conversation,  which  was  always  grave  when  I  was  in 
his  company,  I  soon  learned  that  he  was  of  the  Arndt  and  Spener 
school  in  theology  and  feeling.  Indeed,  a  majority  of  these  fath- 
ers had  the  same  Richtung. 

Although  Dr.  Schaeffer  never,  to  a  great  extent,  indulged  in  au- 
thorship, he  was  a  more  learned  man  than  many  whose  books  are 
more  numerous. 

He  was  born  in  Germany  and  came  to  this  country  in  1775  or 
"76.  He  was  cherished  by  Rev.  Mr.  Goering,  of  York,  under, 
whom  young  Schaeffer  studied  for  the  ministry.  He  had  previously 
taught  school  in  York  county  for  several  years.  He  was  licensed 
in  1786,  and  took  charge  of  the  churches  in  and  around  Carlisle. 
In  1790  he  became  pastor  of  the  Germantown  district,  and  in  1812 
he  removed  to  Philadelphia  and  became  the  colleague  of  Rev.  Dr. 
Helmuth,  in  St.  Michel's  and  Zion  Churches.  In  1814  he  was 
honored  with  the  title  of  D.  D.  by  the  University  of  Pennsylva- 
nia. In  1834  he  retired  from  the  active  duties  of  the  ministry 
and  removed  to  Frederick,  Md.,  where  his  son  David  Frederick 
was  pastor,  and  where  he  died  in  1836,  aged  76  years. 

Four  of  his  sons  became  ministers  ;  David  F.,  who  died  in  Fred- 
erick, Md,  in  1837  ;  Frederick  Christian,  who  died  in  New  York 
in  1832  ;  Frederick  Solomon,  who  died  in  Hagerstown  in  1815, 
aged  25,  who  was  the  father  of  Rev.  Dr.  C.  W.  Schaefter,  of  German- 
town  ;  and  Charles  Frederick,  one  oi  the  most  learned  of  our  clergy, 
still  surviving  (1878)  and  professor  in  the  Theological  Seminary, 
Philadelphia. 

The  following  letters  from  Sprague's  Annals,  pp.  82-4,  represent 
his  character  truly : 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  25 


l-itO.M    THE   UEV.  CIIAHI.KS   F    «  IIAKFKEK,  D.  D. 

Easton,  Pa.,  November  IG,  1854. 

Those  who  were  best  acquainted  with  my  father  in  private  life 
esteemed  him,  I  believe,  as  a  devout  and  holy  man.  He  devoted 
himself  especially  to  those  duties  of  the  pastoral  office  which,  least 
of  all,  attract  public  attention.  A  large  portion  of  his  time  was 
given  to  the  visitation  of  the  sick  and  poor.  The  former  he  loved 
to  visit,  and  his  great  experience,  combined  with  his  own  clear 
views  of  Divine  truth  and  the  wants  of  the  heart,  account  for  the 
dee]i  impressions  which  the  afflicted  received  when  he  prayed  with 
them  or  conversed  on  religious  subjects.  For  the  latter  he  almost 
systematically  collected  alms  by  applying  to  benevolent  Cliristian 
friends,  Avho  gladly  availed  themselves  of  his  services  as  their  al- 
moner. Many  instances  occurred  in  which  he  sought  out  the 
needy,  and  aflbrded  relief  under  circumstances  which  would  have 
admitted  of  aid  from  no  other  source. 

His  deep  interest  in  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  young,  and  his 
warm  attachment  to  them,  were  also  among  his  characteristic  fea- 
tures. He  seemed  to  regard  those  as  his  happiest  hours  in  which 
he  regularl}'  gave  religious  instruction  to  the  young  on  the  even- 
ing of  the  Lord's  Day.  When  he  paid  pastoral  visits  it  was  usual 
to  bring  the  children  of  the  family  to  him,  as  he  devoted  as  much, 
attention  to  these,  in  his  own  gentle  and  pleasant  mode,  as  to 
adults.  He  described  the  Saviour  to  the  little  children,  who  loved 
to  gather  around  him,  attracted  their  attention  by  familiar  de- 
scriptions of  Christ's  miracles  and  parables,  and  taught  them  to 
pray  to  their  Divine  Redeemer. 

He  was  eminently  a  man  of  prayer,  and  devoted  much  time 
daily  to  his  private  devotions.  His  children  who  survive  grate- 
fully remember  his  mode  of  conducting  family  worship,  his  expla- 
nations of  the  portion  of  Scripture  which  he  or  one  of  them  read, 
and  the  hymns  which  he  taught  the  family  to  sing  as  a  delightful 
part  of  the  daily  worship. 

His  mild  and  forgiving  spirit  was  often  tested.  At  one  j^eriod 
of  his  life,  during  his  residence  in  Philadelphia,  unusual  difficul- 
ties arose  in  the  German  congregation  of  which  he  was  pastor, 
connected  with  the  question  of  introducing  the  English  language 
into  the  public  worship.  He  never  permitted  a  word  expressive 
of  anger  to  escape  his  lips,  but  exhorted  his  friends  to  be  forbear- 


26  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

ing  and  submissive.  He  embraced  every  opportunity  to  soothe 
the  excited  minds  of  those  who  seemed  to  be  unfriendly,  and  his 
consistent  and  kind  course  disarmed  many,  removed  their  preju- 
dices, and  converted  them  into  sincere  and  admiring  friends. 

He  never  accumulated  money.  Several  small  amounts,  obtain- 
ed by  the  jjractice  of  strict  economy  during  many  years,  and  en- 
trusted to  those  whom  he  considered  as  his  friends,  were  all  lost. 
Though  he  had  hoped  to  preserve  the  money  for  his  family,  and 
of  course  regretted  the  loss  of  it,  he  fully  retained  his  equanimity, 
and  always  said  "  The  Lord  will  provide." 

He  was  of  average  height,  rather  thin  in  person,  but  favored 
with  an  uncommonly  good  constitution.  Even  in  his  advanced 
years  he  retained  much  of  that  manly  beauty  of  features  by  which 
he  had  once  been  distinguished.  His  very  dark  hair  and  eyes, 
his  healthy  color,  and  his  unusually  powerful  voice,  which  was 
also  well  toned,  arrested  attention  and  predisposed  persons  to  a 
kindly  estimate  of  him.  There  was,  besides,  a  gentleness  of  ex- 
pression in  his  countenance,  which  did  not  fail  to  add  to  the  effect 
produced  by  his  addresses. 

It  is  probable  that  his  feelings  were  very  excitable  in  early  life. 
Even  in  later  years  traces  of  sensitiveness  occasionally  appeared, 
indicating  that  if  Divine  grace  had  not  renewed  his  heart,  he 
might  have  often  displayed  even  great  warmth  of  temper.  Re- 
marks which  he  occasionly  made  on  this  subject  led  his  family  to 
understand  that  he  deemed  it  especially  necessary  to  Avatch  over 
himself,  and,  by  Divine  aid,  control  his  feelings.  His  prayers 
were  evidently  heard ;  for  even  when  circumstances  occurred 
adapted  to  arouse  the  angry  passions,  he  was  enabled  to  overcome 
the  temptation,  and  was  never  known  to  yield.  His  family  never 
saw  him  gay  or  excessively  lively,  but  neither  did  they  ever  wit- 
ness anything  that  resembled  melancholy  or  gloom.  He  was  rather 
characterized  by  a  uniform  gravity,  tempered  by  a  calm  cheerful- 
ness. Among  the  favorite  texts  which  he  often  quoted  in  the 
family  circle  were  two  which  had  evidently  exercised  a  predomi- 
nating influence  over  his  own  character,  namely,  "  Our  conversa- 
tion is  in  Heaven,"  and  "  Set  your  affections  on  things  above,  not 
on  things  on  the  earth." 

In  place  of  adding  any  further  remarks  of  my  own,  I  will  con- 
clude by  appending  a  brief  extract  from  a  sketch  of  my  father's 
character,  which  Professor  Stoever,  of  Pennsylvania  College,  pre- 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  27 

pared,  and  which  I  regard  as  a  very  faitliful  view  of  some  of  his 
leading  characteristics,* 

"Dr.  Schaeffer  was  a  man  of  solid  abilities  and  of  studious 
habits.  He  was  a  close  student,  and  carefully  read  the  Hebrew 
Bible  and  the  Septuagint.  No  day  passed  without  the  deliberate 
jierusal  of  the  sacred  original.  His  intellect  had  been  invigorated 
and  enriched  by  earnest  ettbrt  and  constant  diligence.  It  was 
single  in  its  aims,  and  more  effective  than  many  minds  of  greater 
brilliancy.  *  *  *  *  rj^  .^^..^t,  peculiarly  interested  in  geo- 
graphical studies,  and  had  accumulated  a  lai'ge  collection  of  maps. 
After  his  professional  studies,  this  seems  to  have  been  his  favorite 
pursuit.  He  was  also  enthusiastic  in  his  love  of  music,  and  from 
this  source  frequently  sought  recreation.  It  was  his  usual  prac- 
tice every  night  before  retiring  to  play  on  the  piano  and  sing  a 
few  choice  stanzas.  He  had  likewise  a  poetic  talent,  which,  in 
earlier  life,  he  was  disposed  to  cultivate.  He  composed  quite  a 
number  of  hymns.  In  later  A-ears  he  does  not  seem  to  have  exer- 
cised this  gift.  ******** 

"  As  a  preacher  Dr.  Schaeffer  was  plain  and  unostentatious,  but 
instructive  and  experimental.  His  views  on  all  subjects  of  Chris- 
tian faith  were  evangelical.  The  teachings  of  Divine  Revelation 
he  implicitly  received.  After  the  Sacred  Scriptures  he  revered 
the  volume  of  our  Symbolic  Books,  a  Latin  copy  of  which  he  al- 
ways read.  These,  in  his  judgment,  contained  a  summary  of  Chris- 
tian Doctrine,  the  truths  of  God's  Word.  He  never,  however, 
exalted  them  above  the  Bible.  He  was  tolerant  in  his  views,  lib- 
eral in  his  spirit,  and  conciliatory  in  his  intercourse.  His  sermons 
Avere  eminently  practical,  designed  to  reach  the  heart  and  affect 
the  conduct.  His  partialities  were  all  in  favor  of  the  Arndt  and 
Spener  School.  These  predilections  which  he  acquired  in  his 
youth  he  retained  through  life." 

With  great  regard,  I  am  very  sincerely  yours, 

Charles  F.  Schaeffer. 

FIJOM   THE   REV.  C.  P.  KRAUTU,  D.  D., 
PKOFESSOH  IN  THE  THEOLOOICAT.  SEMINAKY,  OETTYSBURG. 

Gettysbuiig,  April  5, 1855. 

My  Dear  Sir  :  My  first  introduction  to  Dr.  Schaeffer  was  in 
the  year  1819,  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Evan- 
gelical Lutheran  Synod  of  Pennsylvania  and  the  adjacent  States. 

*  Evatig.  Re\-.  VI,  275. 


28  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Then  in  my  youth,  and  applying  to  that  venerable  Lody  for  au- 
thority to  preach  the  Gospel,  Dr.  Schaeffer  was  a  member  of  the 
coiuinittee  appointed  by  Synod  to  examine  the  applieante*.  I  re- 
tain a  very  distinct  recollection  of  the  appearance  and  bearing  of 
the  doctor  during  that  (to  me)  trying  process.  Grave,  dignified, 
earnest,  kind,  he  executed  his  task  with  a  faithful  and  gentle  spirit. 
He  manifested  a  special  interest  in  the  examination  of  a  young 
gentleman,  who  had  made  in  Germany  considerable  proficiency  in 
Hebrew,  an  attainment  now  so  common,  but  then  rare  in  all  our 
chui'ches.  Amongst  the  divinea  of  his  day  he  held  a  very  high 
rank  in  respect  to  Oriental  learning,  and  particularly  the  Hebrew  ; 
and  I  believe  he  continued  to  cherish  his  fondness  for  it  till  the 
close  of  life.  To  what  extent  he  had  pursued  the  dialects  cognate 
with  the  Hebrew  I  do  not  know,  but  have  reason  to  believe  that 
he  had  studied  them  to  some  extent. 

It  was  eight  years  after  this  when,  from  a  change  of  residence, 
Philadelphia  became  my  home,  that  I  was  brought  into  closer  re- 
lations and  more  intimate  communion  with  him.  He  was  then 
advanced  in  life,  and  had  long  and  faithfully  served  his  Master  in 
preaching  the  Gospel  and  performing  the  arduous  duties  of  a  pas- 
tor. I  found  him  hospitable,  accessible  to  his  younger  brethren, 
and  uniformly  urbane.  In  conversation  he  was  remarkably  un- 
pretending and  modest  ;  indeed  no  trait  in  him  was  more  strongly 
developed  than  freedom  from  ostentation.  He  was  unjust  to  him- 
self in  this  respect — if  any  reference  were  made  to  his  attainments 
he  would,  with  perfect  sincerity,  disclaim  all  pretensions  to  any 
superior  knowledge.  Consulted  in  casuistical  cases,  he  was  always 
ready  to  counsel  his  younger  brethren  in  the  ministry,  and  his 
oracles  were  given  forth  with  no  uncertain  sound.  Moving  much 
amongst  his  people,  diligent  in  his  visits  from  house  to  house,  at- 
tentive to  the  sick  and  afflicted,  he  was  a  model  minister  of  Jesus 
Christ.  I  have  seen  him  when  he  was  cast  upon  a  bed  of  sickness, 
and  when  his  recovery  seemed  at  least  very  doubtful,  and  he  was 
calm,  resigned,  ready  to  depart  and  be  with  Christ.  I  have  mark- 
ed the  deep  reverence  and  solemnity  with  which  he  partook  in 
the  devotional  exercises  which  he  solicited,  and  had  evidence  not 
to  be  resisted  that  he  was  a  man  of  large  experience  in  the  Divine 
life,  a  devoted  soldier  of  the  Cross.  His  mind  was  solid  rather 
than  brilliant,  and  his  discourses  were  adapted  to  instruct  and 
profit  rather  than  merely  to  please.     Evangelical  in   his  views, 


FIFTY    YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  29 

setting  forth  tlie  doctrine  of  Justification  by  Faith,  as  held  by  our 
church,  aiming  to  win  souls  by  true  conversion,  enforcing  all  Iuk 
lessons  by  a  holy  example,  he  finished  the  work  which  had  been 
given  him,  and  I  doubt  not  entered  into  the  joy  of  his  Loi'd. 

Faithfully  yours, 

C.  P.  Krauth. 

DR.  GEORGE    LOCHMAN 

I  never  was  acquainted  with,  though  I  distinctly  remember  his 
appearance,  having  seen  him  in  the  pulpit  wdien  I  was  a  boy,  in 
York.  He  did  nothing  more  on  that  occasion  than  announce  the 
opening  of  the  Synod  the  next  day,  and  yet,  juvenile  as  I  was,  to 
this  day  his  mild,  amiable,  handsome  countenance  is  present  to 
my  view,  and  the  sweet  mellifluous  tones  of  his  voice  still  sound 
in  my  ears.  He  and  Dr.  Schmucker,  Sr.,  were  intimate  as  broth- 
ers, and  I  have  often  heard  the  latter  speak  of  him  as  he  would 
of  a  favorite  younger  brother.  I  remember  him  telling  me  how 
deejjly  Dr.  Lochman  was  wounded  at  the  severe  criticism  of  one 
of  his  publications  by  Dr.  Ely,  of  Philadelphia.  He,  who  could 
never  utter  or  write  a  w'ord.  that  would  hurt  the  feelings  of  any 
man  living,  thought  it  hard  that  other  men  should  indulge  in 
sharp  language  and  unsparing  criticism  of  others.  I  have  been 
told  that  he  was  equally  the  favorite  of  all  men  of  sensibility 
who  knew  him. 

He  was  born  in  Philadelphia  in  1773,  graduated  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania  in  1789,  licensed  in  1794,  elected  ];)ai'tor 
at  Lebanon,  where  he  remained  twenty-one  years.  In  1815  he 
was  elected  to  Harrisburg,  where  he  remained  till  his  death,  in 
1826,  aged  fifty-three.  For  a  list  of  his  writings,  see  my  Biblio- 
theca  Lutherana. 

One  of  his  pupils  thus  describes  him  : 

The  doctor  took  great  pains  and  pleasure  in  imparting  to  us 
such  instruction  as  we  needed.  He  was  a  father  to  us,  always 
pleasant  and  communicative.  He  was  easily  ajiproached,  ever 
ready  to  solve  our  difficulties,  and  unravel  the  many  hard  ques- 
tions which  made  us  halt.  He  would  spend  his  time  cheerfully 
for  our  good.  He  was  the  kind  father,  the  patient  and  conde- 
scending instructor,  and  affable  and  social  christian,  the  light  of 
whose   handsome   and   benevolent   countenance  illuminated    the 


30  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

circle  which  his  benevolent  heart  attracted  around  him.  He  de- 
lighted, between  the  recitation  hours,  to  gather  his  students  around 
him  and  explain  the  points  of  difference  between  other  creeds  and 
the  Lutheran.  He  prided  in  the  distinctive  characteristic  liber- 
ality of  Lutheranism  ;  of  not  having  an  endless  creed  run  out 
into  the  minor  distinctions  of  theological  disputants,  but  set  up 
the  Bible  as  the  only  rule  of  faith.  He  ascribed  the  union  and 
harmony  of  the  Lutheran  church  to  the  liberty  her  ministers  en- 
joyed in  non-essentials,  and  union  in  the  fundamentals  of  our 
holy  religion. 

EXTRACTS  OF  A  LETTEH  IN  SPRAGUE'S  ANNALS. 
FKOM   THE   REVEREND   WILLIAM   R.  DEWITT,  D.  T>. 

Harkisburg,  January  16, 1852. 

My  Dear  Sir:  When  I  came  to  Harrisburg,  in  1818,  to  take 
charge  of  the  church  to  which  I  now  minister,  Dr.  Lochman  was 
the  Pastor  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  of  this  place. 
Dr.  Lochman  preached  a  portion  of  his  time  in  the  English  lan- 
guage. When  the  Presbyterian  and  Methodist  Churches  were 
not  supplied,  his  church  was  the  resort  of  all  the  English  inhabi- 
tants of  Harrisburg  who  were  accustomed  to  attend  j)ublic  wor- 
ship. He  was  also  frequently  called  on  for  the  performance  of 
funeral  services  and  the  visitation  of  the  sick  in  the  English  fam- 
ilies. He  was  prominent  in  all  the  educational  interests  of  the 
Borough  ;  was,  from  its  organization  to  his  death,  the  President 
of  the  Harrisburg  Bible  Society,  and  gave  his  countenance  and 
support  to  every  measure  that  promised  to  advance  the  public 
welfare.  He  thus  became  intimately  associated  with  the  citizens 
of  Harrisburg,  and,  to  this  day,  his  name  is  held  in  affectionate 
remembrance  by  our  older  inhabitants  of  all  denominations. 

This  was  the  prominent  feature  in  Dr.  Lochman'd  character — a 
childlike  simplicity,  combined  with  unmeasured  kindness  of  heart, 
which  nothing  could  disturb,  e.xcept  indeed  some  invasion  of  what 
he  esteemed  the  rights  and  prerogatives  of  the  good  old  Lutheran 
Church,  for  which  he  entertained  an  affection  next  in  strength  and 
devotedness  to  that  he  felt  for  his  Divine  Master.  I  do  not  mean 
to  intimate  that  Dr.  Lochman  was  a  bigot — nothing  could  be  far- 
ther from  his  nature.  He  could  not  be  otherwise  than  genial  and 
kind  to  all  of  every  denomination.  But  the  Lutheran  Church,  the 
Go-eat  Lutheran  Church,  lay  very  near  his  heart. 


FIFTY   YEAKS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  31 

His  jjreaching,  his  prayers,  all  his  public  as  well  as  private 
ministrations,  bore  the  impress  of  his  pastoral  character.  He  was 
esteemed  among  the  most  learned  of  the  Lutheran  Divines  in  this 
country.  He  always  had  a  greater  or  less  number  of  students  of 
Divinity  residing  with  him  in  his  family,  to  whom  he  gave  instruc- 
tion by  way  of  prej^aring  them  for  the  sacred  office.  But  in  the 
jjulpit  he  invariably  laid  aside  the  doctor,  and  was  the  kind  and 
affectionate  pastor.  As  a  pastor  he  was  indefatigable.  During 
his  ministry  here  he  had,  for  a  time,  the  charge  of  several  small 
country  congregations  in  addition  to  the  one  in  town,  which  ren- 
dered his  pastoral  labors  very  severe.  But  he  was  ever  prompt 
to  the  call  of  duty  when  his  health  would  permit.  Storm  or  sun- 
shine, cold  or  heat,  day  or  night,  he  was  ever  ready  to  go  and  ad- 
minister the  consolations  of  the  Gospel  to  the  sick  and  dying,  to 
the  afflicted  and  distressed.  Often,  in  my  early  ministry,  have  I 
come  from  my  study  with  my  head  throbbing  in  my  efibrts  to  get 
out  something  that  might  be  useful  to  my  jDeojDle,  and  have  met 
the  Doctor,  with  cane  in  hand,  walking  the  streets,  with  his  fresh 
ruddy  countenance  lighted  lip  with  an  expression  of  benignity, 
either  coming  from  or  going  to  visit  some  afflicted  familj^,  some 
child  of  want,  or  some  members  of  his  congregation,  at  whose 
houses  he  was  welcome,  and  I  dare  not  say  I  never  envied  the 
leisure  he  enjoyed  from  his  studies  for  pastoral  visitation.  Me- 
thinks  I  see  him  now  walking  the  streets,  with  his  golden-headed 
cane,  a  pattern  of  neatness  in  his  dress,  a  perfect  gentleman  of 
the  old  school  in  his  manners,  bowing  politely  and  complacently 
to  all  he  met,  and  smiling  benignantly  on  the  little  children,  who 
rejoiced  to  be  recognized  by  the  good  Doctor,  and  thought  they 
had  much  to  tell  their  parents  at  home  when  they  could  say  that 
they  had  met  Dr.  Lochman  in  the  street  and  that  he  had  spoken 
to  them  and  laid  his  hands  on  their  heads  and  blessed  them.  In 
those  days  Whitsuntide  was  a  great  day  in  Harrisburg.  It  was 
a  high  day.  On  that  day  all  the  youth  of  a  certain  age  of  the 
Lutheran  families  marched  in  procession  through  our  streets, 
dre.ssed  in  white,  with  a  plain  white  cap  on  their  heads,  to  the 
Lutheran  Church,  where  they  were  confirmed  and  received  the 
benediction  of  their  Pastor.  As  I  recall  in  my  musings  the  scenes 
of  other  days,  I  seem  to  meet  again  in  our  streets  the  good  Luth- 
eran Pastor,  to  see  the  benignant  smile  on  his  countenance,  and 
to  hear  from  his  lips  the  "  How  do  you  do,  my  dear  friend?"  in 


32  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY. 

that  2^eculiar  tone  of  kindness  which  it  is  impossible  to  imitate. 
But  he  is  gone.  Notwithstanding  four  or  five  other  excellent  Pas- 
tors have  occupied  his  place  since  his  death,  the  memory  of  Dr. 
Lochman  still  seems  almost  as  fresh  and  fragrant  as  ever. 

Yours  most  respectfully, 

W.  R.  Dewitt. 

EXTRACT   OF   A   LETTER  FROM   THE   REV.  A.. II.  LOCHMAM,  D.  D. 

YouK,  Pa.,  January  19, 186.3. 
.  I  think  I  may  safely  say  that  his  most  prominent  characteristics 
as  a  man  and  a  christian  were  a  childlike  simplicity  and  an  ardent 
affection.  These  qualities  tempered  and  modeled  the  whole  man. 
His  piety  was  more  of  the  type  of  that  of  John  than  of  Peter. 
Though  ardently  attached  to  the  Church  of  his  fathers  and  of  his 
choice,  yet  no  one  ever  accused  him  of  a  bigoted  or  sectarian 
spirit.  His  hand  was  ever  cordially  extended,  and  his  heart  open 
to  welcome  all  Avho  loved  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  who  received 
what  he  regarded  as  the  cardinal  truths  of  our  holy  religion. 

Neither  in  his  intercourse  with  others,  nor  in  his  discussions  at 
Synodical  meetings,  nor  on  any  other  public  occasions,  was  there 
anything  that  approached  to  ostentatious  display.  You  always 
knew  where  to  find  him.  He  spoke  directly  to  the  point  without 
any  formality  or  any  concealment.  To  his  students  of  Divinity, 
of  whom  he  had  at  different  times  upwards  of  twenty,  he  always 
said  "  Be  plain  and  simple  ;  speak  so  that  the  common  people  will 
be  able  to  understand  you,  and  you  are  sure  that  the  learned  will." 

He  scarcely  ever  passed  a  person,  not  even  a  child,  for  whom 
he  had  not  a  smile  and  a  kind  word. 

The  love  of  God  in  the  redemption  of  the  world  through  the 
atonement  of  Christ  was  the  theme  upon  which,  above  all  others, 
he  loved  to  dwell.  This  seemed  to  set  his  soul  on  fire,  and  he  dis- 
coursed upon  it  with  an  eloquence  and  a  pathos  which  often  proved 
quite  irresistible. 

In  his  judgment  of  others  he  always  leaned  to  the  side  of  mer- 
cy. His  family  government,  though  firm  and  decisive,  was  a  con- 
stant exhibition  of  love.  He  scarcely  ever  administered  a  severe 
reproof;  and  I  never  knew  him  correct  any  of  his  children  but 
once  or  twice,  and  then  I  was  myself  the  unfortunate  subject,  and 
I  richly  deserved  it.     Something  may  be  inferred  concerning  the 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LfTHEKAN    MIKISTRY.  33 

influence  that  lie  exerted  upon  his  children  from  the  fact  that  all 
of  them  who  came  to  years  of  maturity  (seven)  became  consistent 
members  of  the  church.  In  his  dying  moments  he  said  to  a  min- 
ister of  another  denomination,  who  visited  him,  "  Brother,  what 
would  I  do  now  if  I  had  not  an  Almighty  Saviour  to  rest  upon  ?" 

ANECDOTE  OF  nil.  LOCIIMAX. 

When  George  was  a  boy  his  father  determined  that  he  should 
learn  his  business  and  thus  help  to  support  the  family.  By  the 
depreciation  of  the  continental  currency  he  had  lost  the  little 
means  he  had  possessed.  The  importunities  of  the  son,  however, 
made  an  impression  upon  him,  and  he  consented  to  allow  him  to 
acquire  a  knowledge  of  the  languages.  On  a  certain  occasion  a 
new  book  was  to  be  purchased.  The  previous  week  he  had  bought 
a  dictionary  and  other  books  which  he  required.  He  was  afraid 
to  mention  it  to  his  father,  lest  he  might  refuse  to  furnish  him 
with  the  money.  In  this  difficulty  he  resorted  to  prayer.  As  he 
was  returning  from  school  he  simply  stated  his  case  to  his  Hea- 
venly Father  and  asked  his  assistance.  "After  I  had  prayed," 
he  said,  "my  mind  became  easy,  and  taking  a  feather  which  was 
lying  in  my  path,  I  blew  it  in  the  air  and  ran  after  it.  As  it  was 
descending  I  blew  it  up  again,  when  a  slight  breeze  caught  it  and 
bore  it  away  before  me.  I  followed  it.  It  fell  down  into  the 
street  and  lighted  upon  a  silver  dollar,  the  price  of  the  book  I 
wanted  to  buy.  I  took  it  up,  praising  God,  brought  it  home,  told 
my  father  all  the  circumstances."  The  old  man  was  much  affect- 
ed, and  as  he  brushed  away  the  tears  from  his  eyes  and  said 
"  George,  this  dollar  may  not  be  ours,  bi'.t  take  it.  God  has  sent 
it.  We  will  make  enquiry,  and  if  the  owner  is  found  I  will  give 
him  another." 

DR.  CHRISTIAN  ENDRESS,  OF  LANCASTER, 

was  one  of  the  most  intellectual  of  our  ministers  of  that  day. 
He  died  in  1827,  too  early  for  any  intimate  acquaintance  with 
him.  I  never  saw  him  but  once,  when  he  was  on  a  visit  to  Dr, 
Schmucker,  whom  he  came  to  consult  about  the  publication  of  a 
new  translation  of  Paul's  Epi.stle  to  the  Romans.  It  never  was 
put  to  press,  though  advertisements  were  issued. 


34  FIFTY    YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY. 

He  was  the  author  of  those  exhaustive  articles  in  the  Lutheran 
Intelligencer,  entitled,  "Was  Lutheran  absolute  predestinarian?" 

In  his  youth  he  was  a  tutor  in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  is  said  by  those  who  knew  him  to  have  been  a  first  rate  clas- 
sical scholar. 

Any  person  who  ever  saw 

DR.  FREDERICK  WILLIAM  GEISSEKHAINER 

but  once,  as  I  did  years  ago,  must  have  been  struck  with  the  in- 
tense brilliancy  of  his  eye,  and  of  course  with  his  profoundly  pene- 
trating look.  I'  met  him  only  once,  and  that  was  in  his  own  house 
in  New  York.  He  was  slight  in  person  and  had  a  deeply  pock- 
marked face,  if  I  remember  correctly.  His  movements  were  quick, 
his  conversation  animated,  and  his  thoughts  betokened  the  man 
of  reflection  and  experience.  Without  any  pretence  he  soon  im- 
pressed you  that  he  was  a  man  of  learning,  if  there  were  any  oc- 
casion to  draw  him  out.  I  confess  that  my  previous  associations 
had  led  me  to  entertain  a  prejudice  against  him,  but  an  hour's  in- 
terview dispelled  such  unfavorable  feelings,  and  he  proved  himself 
to  be  a  polite  christian  gentleman. 

AVhen  I  was  with  him  a  German  woman  came  in  with  a  boy, 
whom  she  represented  as  incorrigibly  bad,  and  requested  the  doc- 
tor to  give  him  a  good  lecture.  He  did  it  in  proper  style,  and 
held  the  menace  over  him  that  if  he  did  not  reform  he  would  not 
confirm  him  !  This  seemed  to  have  a  better  effect  than  any  thing 
else,  at  least  so  it  ajjpeared,  but  the  way  in  which  the  poor  fright- 
ened lad  replied  over  a  dozen  times  to  the  doctor's  remonstrance, 
"  Ya,  Herr  Pfarrer  !"  was  very  amusing. 

When  he  first  arrived  in  this  country,  in  1793,  he  was  of  slender 
stature,  delicate  constitution,  and  timid  disposition.  He  fell 
among  thieves  at  the  public  house  in  Philadelphia  at  which  he 
stopped,  and  the  savage  landlord  still  further  tried  to  alarm  the 
young  and  inexperienced  foreigner  by  telling  him  that  it  was  a 
common  thing  in  the  rural  districts  of  this  country  for  the  people 
to  chastise  their  preachers  if  their  sermons  reproved  the  sins  of 
the  hearers,  or  otherwise  did  not  satisfy  them.  The  credulous 
)^oung  missionary  was  so  dreadfully  alarmed  by  this  report  and 
other  ill  treatment  that  he  resolved  to  return  to  Europe  by  the 
first  opportunity.     Through  the  persuasion  of  Dr.  Helmuth,  he 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LL'TEERAN    MINISTRY.  35 

consented  to  delay  his  voyage  a  short  time,  and  to  preach  at  Bar- 
ren Jlill  for  Rev.  Dr.  Schaeifer.  He  rode  out  on  horseback,  but 
all  the  time  was  much  depressed  in  spirit,  and  when  he  reached 
the  place  he  tied  his  horse  to  a  tree  and  stood  for  a  considerable 
time  at  some  distance  from  the  church,  as  if  afraid  to  venture  in. 
The  congregation  waited  for  a  whole  liour,  but  at  length  growing 
impatient,  one  of  the  elders  approached  the  stranger,  who  was 
not  recognized  as  a  clergyman,  perhaps  from  his  youth  and  his 
unclerical  light  colored  overcoat.  On  the  elder  making  enquiry 
whether  he  knew  of  any  minister  who  was  coming  on  that  morn- 
ing to  preach  for  them,  Mr.  G-.  summoned  up  courage  to  say  that 
he  had  come  for  that  jourpose.  He  then  entered  the  pulpit  and 
preached,  but  as  soon  as  the  sermon  was  ended  he  hun-ied  off  as 
fast  as  he  could,  in  dread  of  the  chastisement  which  he  feared 
would  be  inflicted.  Being  a  good  rider,  he  quickened  his  pace, 
but  how  great  was  his  alarm  when,  suddenly  looking  back,  he  saw 
some  one  riding  after  him  at  a  most  rapid  rate  !  And  now  the 
race  began.  The  man  called  upon  him  to  stop,  but  the  louder  he 
called  the  faster  the  preacher  urged  on  his  steed.  The  pursuer  at 
last  overtook  him,  but  the  preacher's  fears  of  a  castigation  were 
soon  dispelled  by  the  gentle  and  kind  words  of  the  elder,  who 
invited  him  home  to  dinner.  He  said  that  he  wished  to  converse 
with  him  on  a  matter  of  conscience,  as  he  was  convinced  from  his 
sermon  that  he  could  give  him  the  best  advice.  But  regarding 
this  as  only  a  cunning  device  to  get  him  into  his  power,  he  de- 
clined and  hastened  to  Philadelphia.  On  relating  to  Doctor  Hel- 
muth  the  circumstances,  the  doctor  told  him  he  should,  by  all 
means,  have  gone  with  the  elder,  and  tried  to  deliver  his  young 
friend  from  the  false  and  painful  misrepresentations  under  which 
his  mind  was  laboring.  He  finally  succeeded  so  far  that  Mr. 
Geissenhainer  decided  he  would  accept  the  -call  to  the  congrega- 
tions tendered  him  in  Montgomery  county,  about  forty  miles  from 
Philadelphia,  and  for  a  season,  at  least,  make  trial  of  the  ministry 
in  this  country.  An  incident,  however,  occurred  at  the  very  be- 
ginning of  his  experience  that  almost  made  him  regret  the  stop 
he  had  taken,  and  served  to  confirm  him  in  the  opinion  he  had 
conceived  with  regard  to  the  rudeness  of  the  country  people.  On 
his  arrival  at  Goschenhoppen  he  put  up  at  an  inn,  and  on  the  fol- 
lowing Sabbath  preached  his  first  sermon.  After  the  services  the 
vestry  met  and  decided  that  as  it  was  imjiroper  for  the  pastor  to 


36  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

remain  at  a  2:)ublic  house,  one  of  tlieir  own  number  must  talce  liim 
into  his  own  family.  But  so  profound  a  reverence  for  the  youth- 
ful preacher  was  entertained  that  all  made  objection  to  his  recep- 
tion. Finally,  two  who  lived  on  fine  farms  and  possessed  ample 
accommodations  were  selected,  one  of  whom,  it  was  said,  must 
consent  to  the  arrangement.  Both  still  expressing  very  great 
aversion  to  the  proposition,  they  resolved  to  cast  lots  for  the  pur- 
pose of  ascertaining  upon  whom  the  necessity  should  be  laid.  Mr. 
Geissenhainer  had  been  all  the  time  a  silent  spectator  to  the  dis- 
cussion, but  now  he  could  no  longer  restrain  his  feelings  and  keep 
silence.  He  told  them  that  he  did  not  wish  to  obtrude  upon  any 
man's  hospitalities,  that  under  the  circumstances  he  could  not  re- 
main, and  that  he  would  at  once  return  to  Philadelphia.  His 
host  of  the  inn,  a  christian-minded  man  who  was  present,  now 
interfered,  and  asserted  that  there  was  not  a  member  of  the  Board 
who  would  not  most  cheerfully  receive  him  into  his  family,  and 
consider  himself  highly  honored  to  have  the  minister  dwell  under 
his  roof,  but  they  all  feared  that  the  accommodations  they  could 
''urnish  would  not  be  good  enough  for  such  a  man  as  he  was.  This 
explanation  j^resented  the  case  in  quite  a  different  aspect,  and 
the  preacher  assuring  them  that  on  that  point  there  need  be  no 
difficulty,  Mr.  Michael  Keiter  offered  to  give  him  a  home  in  his 
family.     Ev.  Rev.  viii,  503. 

A    POPULAR    MINISTER. 

This  same  Mr.  G ,  who  was  one  of  our  old  time  ministers, 

became  so  renowned  in  his  vicinity  that  persons,  from  a  feeling  of 
curiosity,  would  come  from  remote  points  to  visit  him.  On  a  cer- 
tain occasion  an  elderly  gentleman  from  a  great  distance  called 
and  enquired  for  old  Mr.  G ,  supposing  that  a  man  so  distin- 
guished for  wisdom  and  possessing  so  much  influence  must  neces- 
sarily be  advanced  in  life.  When  the  young  minister  presented 
himself,  appearing  even  more  youthful  than  he  really  was,  the 
stranger  surveyed  him  from  head  to  foot  and  said,  "  I  wish  to  see 
your  father!"  "My  father,"  he  replied,  "died  many  years  ago 
in  Europe!"  "Then,"  said  the  gentleman,  "I  have  been  misdi- 
rected. Is  there  any  other  clergyman  in  these  parts  by  the  name 
of  G ?  for  I  have  come  a  considerable  distance  to  see  that  re- 
nowned old  pastor,  and  to  converse  with  him  on  the  subject  of 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  37 

religion."     The  preacher  said,  "  They  call  me  old  pastor  G , 

inasmuch  as  I  have  a  younger  brother  in  the  ministry."  The 
stranger  still  seemed  incredulous.  He  thought  that  this  could 
scarcely  be  the  man  he  sought,  but  he  remarked,  "  As  I  have  come 
so  far,  I  may  as  well  communicate  my  difficulties  and  freely  un- 
bosom to  3-0U  my  mind."  After  talking  with  him  for  some  hours, 
apparently  much  delighted  and  fully  satisfied,  he  took  his  leave, 

remarking,  "  1  now  believe,  sir,  that  you  are  old  Mr.  G "  Ev. 

Rev.  viii,  507. 

He  had  great  difficulty  in  overcoming  the  general  belief  in 
witchcraft  in  his  churches.  Observing  the  deleterious  effects  of 
the  delusion,  he  felt  that  it  was  his  duty  to  direct  his  energies,  in 
the  pulpit  and  out  of  it,  to  the  removal  of  these  superstitious 
errors.  He,  however,  found  a  most  strenuous  opponent  to  his 
efforts  in  a  notorious  impostor,  who  feigned  that  he  possessed  the 
power  of  exorcism.     As  he  derived  no  small  gain  from  his  craft, 

he  regarded  Mr.  G with  little  favor,  and  put  forth  the  most 

active  exertions  to  counteract  his  influence.  Fortunately,  a  most 
trifling  circumstance  exposed  the  ridiculous  pretensions  of  the 
fellow,  turned  the  current  of  sentiment  against  him,  and  arrested 
the  evil,  accomplishing  that  which  argument  had  failed  to  secure. 

It  happened  that  one  Sabbath  evening  Mr.  G ,  in  passing 

from  one  church  to  another,  was  obliged  to  go  through  a  thick 
dismal  woods  for  a  distance  of  three  miles.  It  was  already  quite 
dark,  and,  as  he  was  not  able  to  see  the  road,  he  let  his  faithful 
white  horse  pick  out  the  way  as  well  as  he  could.  Content  to 
ride  leisurely  along,  he  lighted  his  German  Meerschaum,  and  thus 
in  his  gloomy  solitude,  resolved  to  indulge  in  his  wonted  luxury. 
When  he  had  reached  the  middle  of  the  thicket,  he  heard  a  hu- 
man sound  which  saluted  him  with  "Good  evening!"  Not  being 
able  to  discern  any  one,  he  felt  that  he  was  not  recognized,  yet  he 
at  once  detected  the  voice  of  the  magician,  who  had  been  the  ter- 
ror of  the  whole  neighborhood.  The  idea  immediately  occurred 
to  him  that  he  would  ascertain  whether  the  breast  of  the  man 
who  had  made  others  his  victims  was  himself  entirely  free  from 
the  influence  of  superstition.  He,  therefore,  determined  to  keep 
perfectly  silent ;  and,  when  the  salutation  was  uttered  the  second 
time,  he  blew  the  sparks  of  his  tobacco  pipe  through  the  holes  of 
the  lid.  This  so  alarmed  the  pretended  enchanter  that  he  at  once 
took  to  his  heels  and  ran  as  if  for  his  life  a  mile  and  a  half  to  the 
8 


38  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY. 

first  house,  which  he  reached  pale  and  trembling.  At  first  he  was 
unable  to  speak,  but,  after  a  little,  recovering  from  his  fright,  and 
being  asked  the  cause,  he  answered  that  he  had  ju.st  encountered, 
in  the  centre  of  the  dreaded  woods,  a  most  frightful  ghost — a 
white  horse  without  a  head,  and  upon  it  a  spirit  with  a  head  of 
fire.  Soon  after  the  man  had  departed,  the  young  clergyman 
leisurely  approached  the  house.  It  was  the  house  of  one  of  his 
deacons,  who  expressed  his  surprise  that  he  would  venture  out 
alone  on  so  dark  a  night,  and  along  so  dreary  a  I'oad.  The  cler- 
gyman asked  why  he  should  be  afraid.  "  Because,"  said  the  dea- 
con, "the  wood  is  haunted.  The  exorcist,  this  very  evening,  es- 
caped from  a  most  formidable  apparition,  and  came  hither  a  few 
minutes  ago  almost  frightened  to  death."  "  What  is  it?"  inquired 
the  clergyman.  The  deacon  answered,  "  It  was  a  white  horse 
without  a  head,  and  a  spirit  rider  with  a  fiery  head  !"     "Why, 

sir,  that  apparition  was  I  and  my  Whitey,"  said  Mr.  G ,  and 

he  told  how  he  had  purposely  frightened  the  impostor.  The  fam- 
ily enjoyed  the  joke,  and,  on  relating  the  ludicrous  story  to  others, 
it  soon  spread  through  the  community,  so  that  the  poor  fellow's 
gaiti  was  now  at  an  end,  and  feeling  very  much  mortified  with 
what  had  occurred,  he  went  to  other  parts,  and  after  this  there 
was  little  more  heard  of  witchcraft.     Ev.  Rev.  Vol.  viii,  508. 

Mr.  G  .  .  .  .  was  on  intimate  terms  with  those  who  dif- 
fered from  him  in  sentiment.  Although  he  had  no  sympathy  with 
what  are  called  Calvinistic  doctrines,  yet  he  cherished  so  high  a 
regard  for  many  distinguished  divines  of  the  Calvinistic  faith 
that  the  walls  of  his  study  were  adorned  with  their  likenesses. 
On  a  certain  occasion,  when  some  Lutheran  ministers  were  par- 
taking of  his  hospitality,  some  reference  was  made  to  these  por- 
traits, and  one  of  them  remarked,  "  Ah,  sir,  you  must  be  a  crypto 
(secret)  Calvinist !"  "  So  cryj)to,'"  he  replied,  "that  I  have  never 
yet  made  the  discovery  myself."     lb.  517. 

TKOM  THE  REV.  JAMES  M.  MATHEWS,  D.  D.* 

New  Y^ork,  'March  3, 1853. 

My  Dear  Sir  :  I  cannot  claim  to  have  been  a  very  intimate 
friend  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Geissenhainer,  concerning  whom  you  en- 
quire, and  yet  I  had  considerable  knowledge  of  him  during  the 
Jatter  years  of  his  residence  in  this  city.     I  first  became  acquainted 

*Sprague,  106. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  39 

with  him  in  consequence  of  his  calling  upon  me  on  business,  aVjout 
the  year  1815  or  '16,  and  the  impression  which  that  first  inter- 
view made  upon  my  mind  led  me  to  feel  a  strong  desire  to  culti- 
vate an  acquaintance  with  him,  as  I  might  have  opportunity.  I 
frequently  met  him  in  subsequent  years,  and  always  with  great 
pleasure,  and  the  more  I  knew  of  him  the  greater  was  my  respect 
for  his  character  and  attainments. 

In  stature  Dr.  Geissenhainer  was  rather  small,  but  he  had  an 
uncommonly  expressive  countenance.  His  eye  was  remarkably 
clear,  and,  when  lighted  up,  as  it  usually  was  in  conversation,  it 
beamed  with  intelligence.  Indeed,  when  he  was  earnestly  en- 
gaged, he  seemed  to  talk  to  you  not  merely  with  his  lips  but  with 
every  part  of  his  face.  He  impressed  you  at  once  with  the  idea 
that  he  had  a  vigorous,  discriminating  and  well  furnished  mind. 
He  had  the  reputation,  and  I  have  no  doubt  justly,  of  being  a 
man  of  very  extensive  learning.  His  acquirements  were  not 
merely  professional  but  extended  to  various  other  departments  of 
knowledge,  in  some  of  which  he  was  allowed  to  be  eminent.  He 
was  strong  in  his  moral  nature  as  m  his  intellectual.  He  spoke 
and  acted  out  of  the  abundance  of  his  heart. 

Dr.  Geissenhainer  generally  preached  in  German,  so  that  I  am 
not  able  to  express  an  intelligent  opinion  concerning  him  in  this 
respect.  I  know,  however,  that  he  was  in  excellent  repute  as  a 
preacher  among  the  German  population,  and  I  have  often  heard 
that  in  his  religious  opinions  he  was  a  faithful  follower  of  Martin 
Luther.  He  always  seemed  to  me  to  evince  great  honesty  of  pur- 
pose and  great  simplicity  of  religious  feeling.  He  was  highly 
respected  while  he  lived,  and  his  memory  is  still  fragrant  in  the 
various  circles  in  which  he  moved.  Very  truly  yours, 

J.  M.  Mathews. 


GOTTLIEB    SHOBER. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  General  Synod  held  in  Frederick  in  1825, 
before  I  was  licensed,  I  met  for  the  only  time  in  my  life  that  bluff, 
honest,  homespun,  good  old  man,  Gottlieb  Shober,  of  North 
Carolina.  In  dress,  appearance  and  manners,  he  was  a  regular 
backwoodsman,  and  his  disregard  of  some  of  the  more  refined 
conventionalities  of  polite  society  offended  the  taste  of  some  of 


40  FIFTY   YEAES    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

his  more  precise  brethren,  whilst  they  were  amused  with  his  droll- 
ery and  wit.  He  had  a  broad,  open,  German  face,  though  a  native 
of  this  country  ;  an  expanded  chest  and  a  large  head.  He  was 
fifty  years  old  before  he  entered  the  ministry,  having  been  a  law- 
yer as  well  as  a  tradesman.  He  never  attained  to  theological 
eminence,  but  he  was  a  warm-hearted,  laborious  worker  in  the 
struggling  church  in  North  Carolina,  and  had  a  commanding  in- 
fluence upon  her  destiny. 

At  that  meeting  of  the  General  Synod  he  was  elected  President. 

I  remember  that  at  the  dinner  table,  after  a  profitable  morning 
session,  some  one  remarked  that  the  session  just  closed  was  the 
most  pleasant  and  best  they  had  as  yet  had.  "  No,"  he  replied, 
"this  is  the  most  agreeable,  for  here  there  is  no  dispute,  no  dif- 
ference of  opinion,  no  long  and  tedious  speeches,  and  I,  as  your 
president,  am  not  compelled  to  call  you  to  order!" 

He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  General  Synod,  but,  owing 
to  his  distant  residence,  as  it  was  then  considered,  he  did  not  often 
attend  the  meetings. 

He  bequeathed  a  lai'ge  tract  of  land  to  the  Theological  Semi- 
nary, but  very  little  advantage  was  ever  realized  from  it. 

FROM  THE  REV.  D.  P.  ROSENMILLER. 

Lancaster,  Pa.,  March  30, 1862. 

Dear  Sir  :  My  first  personal  knowledge  of  the  Rev.  G.  Shober 
dates  back  to  the  year  1825,  when  I  attended  a  meeting  of  our 
General  Synod  in  Frederick,  Md.,  at  which  he  was  present.  From 
1829  to  1832,  while  I  was  a  resident  of  Lexington,  N.  C.,  I  was 
often  in  his  company  at  his  own  house,  and  he  assisted  me  on  sev- 
eral sacramental  occasions  in  the  country  churches  in  Stokes 
county,  which  he  had  previously  served  as  pastor,  and  in  which  I 
became  his  successor. 

In  person  Mr.  Shober  was  broadly  built,  about  five  feet  ten 
inches  in  height,  and  had  usually  enjoyed  excellent  health.  He 
had  a  cheerful  expression  of  countenance  which  encouraged  the 
familiar  advances  of  strangers  on  their  first  introduction  to  him. 
In  his  conversation  he  was  free  and  easy,  and  his  unbounded  flow 
of  good  humor  sometimes  manifested  itself  in  witty  sayings  and 
droll  anecdotes,  which  were  sure  to  draw  loud  bursts  of  laughter 
from  his  auditors.     At  such  times  I  have  seen  his  broad  merry 


FIFTY    YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  41 

face  illumined  as  if  by  a  sudden  flash  of  electricity,  ■\vliile  his 
proportionally  broad  chest  would  be  convulsed  with  muscular  agi- 
tation, and  the  very  spectacles  on  his  patriarchal  nose  would  seem 
to  share  in  the  fun.  So  expanded  was  his  chest  that  in  its  pro- 
jection there  was  a  corresponding  depression  across  his  back  of 
sufficient  depth  to  allow  an  ordinary  sized  infant  to  be  laid  in  it. 
Picture  to  yourself  a  gray-haired  patriarch  with  a  ruddy  full-moon 
face  all  glowing  with  good  humor,  and  you  will  have  a  good  idea 
of  the  personal  appearance  of  Mr.  Shober. 

His  general  character  was  well  illustrated  in  his  history,  for  he 
was  emphatically  a  self-made  man.  Commencing  as  a  tinner,  he 
married  the  daughter  of  a  Moravian  and  soon  made  himself  at 
home  in  the  pleasant  town  of  Salem.  Whilst  working  at  his  trade 
he  undertook  to  study  law  and  accomplished  his  purpose.  In  due 
time  he  commenced  practice,  and  was  somewhat  extensively  em- 
ployed in  the  neighboring  counties  of  Stokes,  Davidson,  Rowan 
and  Surry,  being  the  only  member  of  the  bar  acquainted  with  the 
German  language  and  able  to  transact  business  with  the  large 
number  of  Germans  then  living  in  that  region.  Combining  a 
book  and  stationery  store  with  his  tin  shop,  which  he  contrived 
to  have  carried  on,  he  also  became  proprietor  of  a  paper  mill, 
kept  the  post-office,  which  he  caused  to  be  made  a  distributing 
office,  and  was  the  owner  of  a  farm  with  numerous  slaves,  and 
thousands  of  acres  of  low-priced  lands  in  the  western  part  of  the 
State. 

Mr.  Shober  was  eminently  a  cheerful  and  genial  Christian,  his 
religious  character  taking  its  hue  in  no  small  degree  from  his  nat- 
ural temperament.  He  had  a  firm  faith  in  the  great  truths  of  the 
Gospel,  and  evinced  a  most  benevolent  spirit  in  all  his  intercourse 
with  his  fellow-men.  After  he  tad  passed  the  meridian  of  life 
he  expressed  a  wish  to  become  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  and  was 
eventually  received  as  a  member  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Ministerium  of  North  Carolina,  and  served  his  churches  gratui- 
tously until  near  the  time  of  his  death.  But  there  were  not  want- 
ing those  who  looked  suspiciously  upon  his  professions,  and  were 
disposed  to  find  unworthy  motives  for  even  his  best  actions.  Such 
persons  gave  him  little  credit  for  preaching  gratuitously,  because, 
they  said,  he  continued  to  make  money  as  fast  as  ever  by  means 
of  his  tin  shop,  book  store,  paper  mill,  farm  and  post-office.  "Whilst 
he  was  frequently  treading  on  the  toes  of  the   Methodists  and 


42  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Baptists,  lie  in  turn  encountered  their  serious  opposition  ;  and  to 
weaken  his  influence  the  former  would  pray  publicly  for  his  con- 
version, and  the  circuit  riders,  being  strangers  to  him,  would  ask 
him  if  he  had  any  religion. 

What  Mr.  Shober  lacked  as  an  orator  he  supplied  by  the  use  of 
drollery  and  tact.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  he  sometimes,  in  obe- 
dience to  an  impulse  that  seemed  quite  irresistible,  approached 
very  near  to  the  former  in  the  pulpit,  while  he  resorted  to  the 
latter  abundantly  in  his  legal  practice.  When  he  determined  to 
become  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  it  was  his  wish  to  take  orders  in 
the  Moravian  Church,  but  he  found  that  h'^  could  not  be  admitted 
there  without  going  through  a  regular  course  of  theological  train- 
ing, which  at  his  advanced  age  seemed  impossible.  He  also  knew 
that  he  could  not  continue  to  reside  in  the  town  of  Salem  if  he 
became  connected  with  another  denomination.  He,  therefore, 
Tnade  it  clear  to  the  Corporate  Fathers  that  a  certain  alteration 
in  their  rigid  and  exclusive  borough  laws  was  called  for.  This 
being  adopted  and  duly  confirmed  by  legislative  act,  the  way 
was  open  for  him  to  carry  out  his  already  meditated  plan.  He 
then  applied  to  the  Rev.  Charles  Stork,  of  Cabarras,  who  pre- 
scribed for  him  a  course  of  reading ;  and  he  also  accompanied 
that  faithful  man  in  his  catechetical  lectures,  carefully  observing 
and  taking  notes.  In  due  time  he  applied  for  admission  to  the 
Synod  and  was  received.  When  the  indignant  Moravians  called 
a  meeting  to  compel  him  to  leave  their  town,  he  calmly  adduced 
their  recent  enactment  as  proof  that  they  were  acting  without  a 
warrant. 

Mr.  Shober  once  told  me  that  a  clergyman  from  Germany  had 
settled  in  Lexington,  and  a  report  was  started  so  highly  injurious 
to  the  purity  of  his  character  that  he  was  compelled  to  prosecute 
for  slander,  and  he  employed  him  (Mr.  S.)  as  his  counsel.  "  When 
I  had  examined  the  case,"  said  he,  "  I  found  it  was  rotten  and 
wholly  indefensible.  On  the  day  of  the  trial  I  employed  several 
persons  to  mingle  Avith  the  witnesses  of  the  defence  and  rejjort 
their  conversation  to  me.  They  did  so.  When  those  witnesses 
were  called  up  I  objected  to  their  testimony  on  the  ground  of  a 
conspiracy.  I  could  prove  that  one  agreed  to  say  so,  and  another 
80,  and  did  prove  it.  Their  testimony  was  set  aside  and  full  dam- 
ago  given  to  my  client.  I  then  said  to  him,  'I  have  helped  you 
out  of  this  scrape  and  I  want  you  now  to  follow  my  advice.     Sell 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  43 

what  property  you  have,  return  to  Germany,  and  never  show  your 
face  in  this  country  again.'  He  did  so,  and  the  country  was  well 
rid  of  a  bad  man." 

Mr.  Shober  was  a  warm  friend  and  zealous  supporter  of  Sun- 
day Schools.  He  supplied  them  liberally  with  books,  and  by  this 
means,  in  a  country  exceedingly  destitute  of  the  means  of  grace, 
undoubtedly  accomplished  much  good. 

For  many  years  he  was  Treasurer  of  the  North  Carolina  Synod 
and  kept  his  accounts  satisfactorily.  But  at  length  some  of  his 
brethren  thought  that  he  should  not  have  a  life-estate  in  the  hon- 
ors (emoluments  there  were  none)  of  that  dignified  position.  I 
was  present  when  the  movement  was  made  for  a  change.  But  he 
frowned  it  down  as  an  outrageous  rebellion  against  authoritv, 
which  the  lapse  of  many  years  had  sanctioned.  "  I  ke}>t  the 
money,"  said  he,  "  when  there  was  none  to  keep,  and  will  continue 
to  do  so  now  whilst  there  is  any  thing  in  the  treasury."  The  elec- 
tion resulted  in  his  favor.  In  taking  his  usual  time-honored  seat 
his  radiant  face  showed  that  a  gratif3'ing  result  had  been  realized. 
"  Brethren,"  said  he,  "  I  am  obliged  to  you  for  my  re-election.  If 
I  did  not  say  so  I  would  be  a  hypocrite." 

His  family  continued  regular  members  of  the  Moravian  Church.* 
His  only  son,  Emanuel,  is  a  law^'er  of  respectability. 

Very  truly  yours, 

D.    P.   RoSEXMILLER. 


THE  REV.  PAUL   HENKEL 

was,  in  early  life  and  for  many  years,  a  laborious  missionary 
among  the  scattered  Anglo-German  population  in  the  South.  He 
may  indeed  be  considered  as  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  church  in 
that  region,  which  was  in  those  days  truly  desolate.  His  narra- 
tive, which  was  printed,  has  all  the  interest  of  romance,  and  if  he 

*  "  Mr.  Shober  was  no  Lutheran.'  He  was  a  mer.il)er  of  the  iloravian  (Inin-h  and 
never  ilisconnec'tetl  himself  from  eomninnion  wilh  the  same.  He  lived  and  died  as 
a  nieniher  of  that  ehureh.  This  information  the  wi-iter  ixx-eiveil  from  his  own 
daughter,  the  widow  of  Bishop  Herrman.  He  merely  served  the  Lutheran  Chureh 
in  the  capacity  of  one  of  its  ministers,  l)einfr  the  pastor  of  several  neglected  Luth- 
eran congTiiraiions  in  the  ^  icinity  of  his  place  of  residence,  Salem,  N.  C."  —  i>«r;i- 
heim,  Gtrman  Stltlemiut  of  Lutheran  Churches,  p.  441. 


44  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Lad  performed  the  same  self-denying  labors  in  the  service  of  any 
other  church  he  would  have  received  a  greater  earthly  reward. 

I  remember  seeing  him  in  New  Market,  Va.,  in  1825,  and  soon 
afterward  attended  his  funeral  at  the  same  place.  He  was  at  that 
day  already  superannuated.  He  was  tall  in  stature,  emaciated 
and  feeble  and  tottering  in  his  gait.  I  once  saw  him  in  a  Metho- 
dist church,  seated  "in  the  altar,"  as  they  called  it.  The  old 
gentleman  was  exceedingly  nervous,  and  the  preacher  bellowed  as 
if  addressing  a  camp  meeting.  It  had  a  singular  effect  upon  Mr. 
Henkel.  He  writhed  and  every  feature  of  his  face  was  distorted 
with  pain.  His  whole  nervous  system  was  racked  by  the  obstrep- 
erous bawlings  of  the  man  in  the  pulpit.  Young  as  I  was,  I  real- 
ly pitied  old  Mr.  Henkel,  and  it  was  a  relief  to  him  and  to  those 
of  us  who  observed  his  agony  when  the  noisy  preacher  stopped. 

Five  of  his  sons  became  ministers  in  our  church,  of  whom  David 
was  the  best  educated  and  the  most  energetic.  It  was  he  who  bv 
his  writings  and  preaching  became  the  leader  of  what  was  for 
years  popularly  and  rejiroachfully  called  "  Henkelism,"  but  which 
distinguished  itself  only  by  a  more  rigid  adherence  to  the  old 
Lutheran  theology,  and  by  a  want  of  sympathy  and  co-operation 
with  what  was  called  the  "evangelical"  section  of  the  church, 
David  Henkel  was  a  strong  man  among  the  men  with  whom  he 
was  associated,  and  exercised  an  unlimited  control  over  their  ideas 
and  actions.  The  other  brothers,  while  iirm  in  their  maintenance 
of  the  original  faith,  were  less  inclined  to  controversy,  and  min- 
gled more  freely  with  ministers  of  other  Synods.  There  are  to 
this  day  five  ministers  of  that  name  in  our  church,  probably  all 
of  whom  are  sons  of  the  five  sons  of  Paul. 

The  Henkel  family  deserve  credit  for  their  activity  in  publish- 
ing catechisms,  hymn  books  and  other  useful  books.  They  began 
this  as  early  as  1809,  and  have  continued  it  to  this  day.  They 
translated  and  published  on  their  own  account  the  first  English 
edition  of  the  Book  of  Concord  ever  i.«sued,  as  well  as  of  Luther 
on  the  Sacraments,  Luther's  House  Postil,  and  other  religious 
works.* 

The  early  and  arduous  missionary  labors  of  Paul  Henkel  de- 
serve a  more  extended  notice  than  I  have  room  to  give.  The  ma- 
terials are  at  hand  in  his  own  journal,  in  which  are  recorded  many 
stirring  events.     He  was  in  many  respects  a  remarkable  man,  and 

*  For  a  list  of  Paul  Henkel's  writings,  see  Bibliotheca  Lutherana. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  45 

no  one  ever  doubted  liis  sincerity  /and  christian  zeal.  He  was  a 
man  of  strong  prejudices,  undoubtedly,  and  of  contracted  views 
on  the  wants  of  the  church  and  the  proper  mode  of  f^upplying 
those  w.mts,  but  he  never  or  very  seldom  went  out  of  the  limited 
sphere  of  his  own  operations,  and  had  no  opportunity  of  expand- 
ing his  views  by  intercourse  with  other  leading  men  or  other  sec- 
tions of  the  church. 

He  and  his  sons  were  violent  and  uncompromising  enemies  of 
the  General  Synod  and  all  its  institutions,  and  did  much  to  influ- 
ence their  friends  against  most  other  Lutheran  ministers  and 
measures.  For  a  while  they  even  opposed  Sunday  schools,  mis- 
sionary and  education  societies,  and  other  religious  and  benevolent 
enterprises.  Their  descendants,  however,  do  not  cherish  these 
ideas,  but  are  enlightened  supporters  of  the  true  interests  of  the 
church.  The  writings  of  Rev.  A.  J.  Brown,  now  of  the  Holston 
Synod,  contributed  much  to  create  a  wholesome  change  in  the 
minds  and  church  activity  of  some  of  those  men,  all  of  whom 
now  are  ranged  on  the  side  of  evangelical  measures. 

Andrew  Henkel  thus  speaks  of  his  father  in  Sprague's  Annals: 

My  father  was  a  large  man,  within  half  an  inch  of  six  feet  in 
height,  with  physical  organs  well  developed,  with  a  keen  black 
eye,  as  erect  as  an  Indian,  somewhat  inclined  to  corpulency,  and 
yet  athletic  and  rapid  in  his  movements.  Though  his  health  was 
not  always  good,  yet  he  was  almost  constantly  employed  either  in 
reading,  writing,  preaching  or  travelling,  and,  when  necessary,  he 
did  not  hesitate  to  labor  with  his  hands.  He  had  no  desire  for 
this  world's  goods  beyond  what  was  wanting  for  daily  use.  AVhat- 
ever  savored  of  ostentation  was  foreign  to  his  nature.  His  man- 
ner of  living  was  frugal  and  his  dress  plain,  and  yet  in  performing 
the  services  of  the  sanctuary  he  uniformly  wore  a  gown  of  rich 
black  silk.  He  had  great  equanimity  and  serenity  of  temper,  and 
his  friendships  were  sincere  and  constant,  and  his  friends  numer- 
ous. In  the  social  circle  he  always  rendered  himself  agreeable, 
and  often  communicated  important  instruction  by  means  of  some 
pertinent  and  sometimes  humorous  anecdote. 

As  a  preacher  he  possessed  much  more  than  ordinary  power. 
In  the  commencement  of  his  discourse  he  was  slow  and  somewhat 
blundering,  but  as  his  subject  opened  before  him  he  would  become 
animated  and  eloquent,  with  a  full  flow  of  appropriate  thought 
and  glowing  language.     His  illustrations  were  lucid  and  forcible, 


46  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

simple  and  natural.  He  assisted  in  training  a  goodly  number  of 
young  men  for  the  ministrj^  some  of  whom  have  occupied  respon- 
sible stations  with  great  fidelity  and  usefulness. 

After  faithfully  serving  his  generation  for  a  long  course  of 
years,  it  pleased  the  Great  Master  to  call  him  from  his  labors  to 
his  reward.  A  stroke  of  palsy  rendered  him  almost  helpless  for 
a  time  before  his  departure.  He  died  on  the  17th  of  November, 
1825,  when  he  had  nearly  completed  his  seventy-first  year.  His 
remains  are  deposited  in  front  of  the  Lutheran  church  in  the  town 
of  New  Market.* 


REV.    JOHN    F.    BUTHRAUFF, 

of  Greencastle,  Pa.,  was  a  modest,  retiring  man,  and  did  not  hold 
a  prominent  position  among  our  ministers  of  "  fifty  years  ago." 
He  did  his  plain,  pastoral  work,  removed  from  the  broad  society 
of  men,  and  hence  his  name  does  not  stand  out  conspicuously  in 
the  list.  He  gave  two  excellent  sons  to  our  ministry,  Frederick 
and  Jonathan,  and  one  grandson.     Ho  died  in  1837,  aged  74. 

Dr.  Diehl  characterizes  him  fairly  in  the  following  letter  in 
Sprague's  Annals  : 

Dear  Sir  :  My  recollections  of  the  Rev.  John  F.  EuthraufF  date 
back  chiefly  to  my  very  early  life.  During  his  last  years  I  saw 
very  little  of  him,  being  myself  away  from  the  neighborhood, 
prosecuting  my  studies  at  college.  The  image  of  the  man,  how- 
ever, with  his  tall  and  muscular  frame,  his  benevolent  counten- 
ance and  gray  hairs,  his  stately  walk,  his  courteous  bow,  his  easy 
conversation  with  the  elders  of  his  church,  and  his  kind  remarks 
to  children,  are  deeply  impressed  upon  my  memory.  He  was 
capable  of  severe  and  unintermitted  labor.  His  parish  was  very 
large,  extending  some  twenty-five  miles  from  mountain  to  moun- 
tain, across  the  whole  of  the  Cumberland  Valley,  in  the  northern 
part  of  Franklin  county.     His  life  was  eminently  an  active  one. 

Nature  must  have  endowed  him  with  strong  mental  qualities  — 
cjuickness  of  perception,  clearness  of  insight,  and  tenacity  of 
memory.  He  enjoyed  few  early  advantages  for  intellectual  cul- 
ture, and  could  never  be  said  to  be  a  man  of  studious  habits.  His 

*  For  a  fuller  account  of  what  was  once  called  Hcnkclism,  see  a  subsequent 
chapter  under  that  head. 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  47 

reading  scarcely  extended  beyond  the  Bible,  a  good  Commentary, 
and  a  few  practical  works.  But  his  native  vigor  of  mind  enabled 
him  to  produce,  with  but  little  effort,  discourses,  each  of  which 
would  have  cost  most  other  men  days  of  intellectual  labor.  His 
temper  was  quick  and  sensitive.  In  early  life  he  must  have  been 
somewhat  impetuous ;  and  even  in  old  age  he  would  sometimes 
utter  burning  words  to  those  whom  he  regarded  as  wilfully 
perverse. 

Few  men  were  gifted  with  a  keener  sagacity,  or  possessed  a 
more  thorough  knowledge  of  men  and  things,  than  Mr.  PiuthraxafF. 
He  was  as  little  likely  to  be  imposed  on  in  a  bargain  as  any  other 
man.  His  deportment  was  always  grave  and  dignified.  In  his 
intercourse  with  his  parishioners  he  was  ordinarily  bland,  but  his 
personal  reproofs  were  sometimes  very  caustic,  and  not  unfre- 
quently,  for  the  time  being  at  least,  procured  for  him  enemies. 
He  had  great  moral  courage — no  man's  presence  ever  intimidated 
or  embarrassed  him  in  the  performance  of  any  duty  to  which  he 
believed  himself  called. 

As  a  preacher,  he  was  fluent,  animated  and  instructive,  and  his 
appeals  were  often  exceedingly  earnest  and  pathetic.  While  he 
expounded  his  text  in  a  luminous  and  satisfactory  manner,  his 
sermons  were  generally  rather  practical  than  doctrinal.  He  fre- 
quently selected,  as  the  basis  of  his  discourse,  the  Gospel  or  the 
Epistle  of  the  dav.  He  delivered  himself  with  great  ease,  and 
while  he  always  spoke  to  edification,  he  left  you  with  the  impres- 
sion that  he  was  giving  utterance  to  the  thoughts  which  first  oc- 
curred to  him.  His  voice  was  pleasant  and  of  considerable  com- 
pass, though  he  seldom  spoke  louder  than  was  necessary  to  fill 
his  audience  room.  He  was  particularly  happy  in  the  instruction 
of  the  vouth  of  his  charge.  His  catechumens,  on  the  day  of 
Confirmation,  were  often  deeply  moved,  and  sometimes  bathed  in 
tears,  while  his  own  voice  became  tremulous  and  his  venerable 
frame  shook  with  emotion. 

Mr.  PiuthraufF,  though  not  indeed  without  infirmities  (for  these 
cling  even  to  the  best),  was  a  man  of  substantial  Christian  excel- 
lence, and  labored  earnestly  for  the  conversion  of  souls  and  the 
extension  of  the  Redeemer's  Kingdom.  And  his  labors  were  not 
without  their  reward  ;  for  many  were  the  seals  to  his  ministry. 
Some  who  were  brought  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth,  through  his 
instrumentality,  ai-e  yet  to  be  found  in  the  district  over  which  his 


48  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

labors  extended.     His  memory  is  still  reverently  and  gratefully 
cherished  by  his  surviving  parishioners. 

Very  respectfully,  yours, 

Geokge  Diehl. 


REV.    HENRY    A.    MUHLENBURG 

was  for  some  years  pastor  in  Reading,  Pa.,  and  was  a  prominent  rep- 
resentative of  that  time-honored  and  influential  family.  His 
nephew,  Rev.  Prof,  Muhlenburg,  of  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, is  at  present  the  only  one  of  that  well  known  name  in  our 
ministry.  There  are  others  who  are  adorning  other  callings,  but 
the  professor  is  the  onl}^  one  who  has  donned  ihe  clerical  toga. 

Henry  A.  wielded  an  immense  influence  upon  the  church  and 
community  in  which  he  lived.  He  was  a  man  of  commanding 
talent  and  energy  of  character.  So  popular  was  he  in  that  sec- 
tion of  Pennsylvania  that  the  people  insisted  (about  1829)  upon 
his  being  a  candidate  for  Congre.ss,  to  which  he  was  elected  for 
four  successive  terms  (1838),  when  he  resigned  his  seat. 

It  was  at  Washington  where  I  first  met  him,  the  only  time  in 
my  life.  I  had  some  interest  in  the  Revolutionary  Pension 
Bill  which  he  had  in  charge  as  chairman  of  the  committee, 
and  I  called  upon  him  for  some  information.  He  was  coldly 
polite  ;  and  after  I  had  received  what  I  went  for,  I  introduced  the 
subject  of  the  church,  but  he  showed  no  disposition  to  converse 
upon  that  subject,  probably  because  engaged  on  other  business, 
and  I  bowed  myself  out. 

During  his  membership,  some  jDedantic  orator  of  the  House 
frequently  indulged  in  Latin  quotations.  Muhlenburg,  in  a 
speech  one  day,  said  he  would  also  quote  a  foreign  language,  and 
exclaimed  what  was  appropriate  to  the  occasion  :  "  Fiirchte  Gott 
unci  scheue  7iiemand."     (Fear  God,  and  be  not  afraid  of  any  man.) 

In  1835  he  was  nominated  as  the  candidate  of  the  Democratic 
party  for  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  but  was  defeated  by  Gov- 
ernor Wolf.  In  1837  President  Van  Buren  tendered  him  a  jiosi- 
tion  in  the  Cabinet,  as  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  also  the  mis- 
sion to  Russia,  both  of  which  he  declined ;  but  in  1838  he  ac- 
cepted the  mission  to  Austria,  and  was  unanimously  confirmed  by 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  49 

the  Senate.  After  an  absence  of  nearly  three  years,  he  was  re- 
called at  his  own  request,  and  returned  in  December,  1840.  In  1844 
he  was  again  nominated  by  the  Democratic  party  as  candidate  for 
Governor,  and  would  undoubtedly  have  been  chosen  had  not  his 
death  occurred  previous  to  the  election.  He  died  on  the  12th  of 
August,  1844,  at  the  age  of  62,  leaving  behind  him  the 
well-earned  reputation  of  an  accomplished  and  useful  minister  of 
the  Gospel  and  an  upright  and  able  statesman.  Whilst  he  was 
abroad,  he  visited  all  the  more  interesting  parts  of  Italy,  Germany 
and  Swi-tzerland,  in  doing  which  he  found  much  to  gratify  his  fine 
classical  tastes. 


[The  following  article  is  an  abridgement  of  a  sketch  by  Prof. 
Stoever  in  the  Evangelical  Review,  Vol.  .  .  .  ,  p.  405]  : 

REV.    WM.    BEATES 

was  born  in  Philadelphia,  June  14,  1777,  whilst  the  city  was  in 
possession  of  the  British.  In  after  life  he  often  siDoke  with  deep  in- 
terest of  the  thrilling  scenes  which  transpired  during  the  days  of  his 
childhood,  of  the  alienation  and  bitterness  among  neighbors,  and  of 
the  zeal  and  earnestness  with  which  even  the  boys  would  respec- 
tively e.spouse  the  interest  of  the  two  parties.  Long  after  peace 
was  declared,  England  still  had  her  warm  advocates  in  this  "  land 
of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave."  He  vividly  remembered 
how  a  Tory,  in  the  vicinity  of  his  father's  residence,  would  take 
him  by  the  hair,  and,  as  he  attempted  to  escape  his  firm  grasp, 
would  pull  out  large  bunches,  because  the  patriotic  lad,  in  the 
buoyancy  of  his  spirits  and  in  bold  defiance,  would  lustily  cry : 
"  Hurrah  for  General  Washington  !"  "  Hurrah  for  the  Continental 
Congress  !"  He  had  very  distinct  recollections  of  the  appearance 
of  Washington,  whose  residence  in  Philadelphia  was,  for  a  season, 
on  Market  street,  above  Fifth,  just  opposite  the  house  of  his 
father.  He  frequently  saw  him  as  he  daily  rode  out  on  his  gray 
war-horse  with  bright  hoofs,  polished  with  shoe  blacking,  as  was 
the  fashion  in  those  days. 

He  was  a  youth  of  steady,  industrious  habits,  free  from  vicious  ten- 
dencies, although  indiflferent  and  careless  on  the  subject  of  religion. 


50  FIFTY    YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

He  was  reared  under  Christian  influences,  and  regularly  attended 
the  services  of  the  sanctuary  in  the  German  churches,  then  under 
the  pastoral  care  of  Drs.  Helmuth  and  Schmidt.  In  his  sixteenth 
year  his  attention  to  the  truth  was  arrested  and  a  concern  for 
the  salvation  of  his  soul  awakened,  under  circumstances  very 
peculiar.  He  was  returning  from  Zion's  Church,  where  Dr.  Hel- 
muth had  delivered  a  most  solemn  discourse  on  the  miraculous 
restoration  of  the  paralytic.  He  had  listened  with  earnest  atten- 
tion, as  was  his  custom,  to  the  eloquent  preacher  ;  yet  the  sermon 
seemed  to  have  made  no  deeper  impression  than  on  previous  oc- 
casions. But,  as  he  was  in  the  act  of  crossing  Arch  street  home- 
ward, he  imagined  that  he  heard  a  voice,  in  the  most  emphatic 
tones,  saying  to  him:  "You  shall  never  enter  that  church  again 
as  vou  now  are."  The  words  continued  to  ring  in  his  ears  —  he 
could  not  divest  his  mind  of  the  impression.  It  was  in  the  year 
1793,  when  the  yellow  fever  was  so  fearfully  raging  in  Philadel- 
phia, and  thousands  were  the  daily  victims  of  its  ruthless  ravages. 
No  one  left  home  without  carrying  with  him  camphor,  ammonia, 
or  some  disinfectant,  as  a  safeguard  from  the  dreaded  pestilence. 
He  had  with  him,  on  this  occasion,  a  sponge  saturated  with  laven- 
der, which  he  immediately  applied  to  his  nostrils,  and  with  great 
trejjidation  were  his  steps  accelerated.  As  he  reached  the  Market 
House  he  sought  shelter  beneath  its  roof;  but,  just  as  his  home 
was  in  sight,  he  encountered  a  hearse.  A  cold  shudder  passed 
over  his  frame  ;  the  whole  atmosphere  seemed  impregnated  with 
death.  Breathless,  he  rushed  into  the  house,  and  soon  the  little 
family,  unconscious  of  what  was  agitating  his  youthful  breast, 
were  gathered  around  the  table,  where  was  spread  the  simjile  but 
substantial  meal.  It  had  not  for  him,  however,  on  this  occasion, 
the  usual  zest :  his  appetite  had  gone.  He  longed  for  solitude  ; 
but  whither  could  he  flee  ?  "  Hell,"  he  says,  "  seemed  to  be  get- 
ting fast  hold  of  me,  and  I  was  filled  with  indescribable  misery.'' 
He  retired  to  the  shop — it  was  Sunday  —  that  he  might  be  alone. 
In  his  mental  distress,  he  thought  he  again  heard  the  voice,  which 
had  previously  addressed  him,  saying:  "  Look  within  !"  "The 
wages  of  sin  is  death!"  "These  you  are  now  reaping!"  His 
eyes  are  partially  opened.  He  is  awakened  to  a  sense  of  his  dan- 
ger and  his  guilt.  He  now  realizes,  as  he  never  before  had,  his 
true  spiritual  condition.  He  begins  to  feel  how  odious  a  thing  sin 
is,  and  how  ruinous  are  its  consequences.     The  scriptural  injunc- 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  51 

tion,  "  Seek  the  Lord,"  appeared  to  sound  in  his  ears,  as  if  utlcired 
by  a  human  voice.  The  prompt  inquiry  was:  "  How  !"  The  re- 
ply came:  "By  prayer."  "I  immediately  fell  upon  my  knees," 
he  says,  "  and  commenced  with  the  only  prayer  1  knew,  '  Our 
Father  ;'  but  ere  I  had  finished,  my  tongue  seemed  loosened,  my 
lips  were  unsealed,  and,  for  full  an  hour,  I  continued  in  earnest 
supjDlication  at  the  mercy-seat,  pleading  with  God  for  the  forgive- 
ness of  my  sins."  His  supplications  were  not  long  unanswered. 
He  thought  he  heard  the  same  voice  saying  :  "  Thy  sins  are  for- 
given thee  !"  He  now  enjoyed  peace  of  mind  —  that  peace  which 
passeth  knowledge.  He  hastened  in  the  afternoon  to  God's  house, 
with  devout  gratitude,  "no  longer  a  child  of  hell,"  to  use  his  own 
language,  "but  an  heir  of  heaven."  His  sjjiritual  enjoyment, 
however,  was  not  unalloyed.  Sorrow,  was  sometimes  mingled 
with  his  cu]3  of  happiness.  He  had  his  difficulties,  his  trials,  and 
his  fears. 

Dr.  Helmuth,  some  time  after,  on  becoming  acquainted  with  the 
change  that  had  taken  place  in  the  young  man's  religious  views, 
urged  him  to  unite  in  the  exercises  of  the  "  Mosheim  Society,"  an 
association  connected  with  the  church,  designed  to  promote  the 
mental  and  spiritual  improvement  of  its  members.  The  theologi- 
cal students  connected  with  the  seminary  belonged  to  this  Society. 
The  exercises  consisted  of  singing  and  prayer,  the  reading  and 
exposition  of  the  Scriptures,  and  the  discussion  of  questions  on 
religious  topics.  Committees  were  appointed  at  these  meetings  to 
assist  in  the  Sunday  Schools  of  the  church,  in  the  city  and  vicinity. 
He  was  also  a  teacher  in  the  church  Sunday  School,  and  frequently 
opened  and  closed  the  services  with  prayer.  On  one  of  these  oc- 
casions his  pastor,  being  present,  for  the  first  time  suggested  to 
him  the  subject  of  the  Christian  ministry.  "William,"  said  he, 
"  you  must  preach  the  Gospel."  "  I  ?  No  !  H'  the  Lord  needs 
workmen,  He  has  many  more  worthy  to  do  His  work.  I  cannot." 
"  You  do  not  know,"  answered  Dr.  Helmuth  ;  "  the  Lord  chooses 
His  workmen,  and  He  knows  best."  "True,"  says  the  young 
man  ;  "  but  how  could  I  preach?  In  one  half  hour  I  could  tell 
all  I  know,  and  what  then?"  "William,"  replied  the  venerable 
doctor,  "  your  head  is  now  like  an  apothecary  shop,  upside  down  ; 
all  that  is  required  to  be  done  is  to  set  the  materials  in  order." 

A  noted  infidel  happened  to  visit  his  father,  and,  turning  to  the 
young  man,  very  much  to  the  surprise  of  the  family,  said:  "  Wil- 


52  FIFTY   YEARS    IN   THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY, 

liam,  you  must  preach  the  Gospel."  Personal  friends  were  earn- 
estly directing  his  attention  to  the  subject;  but,  modest  in  refer- 
ence to  his  own  abilities,  his  timid  spirit  shrank  from  the  respon- 
sibilities of  the  office.  Whilst  his  mind  was  thus  deeply  exercised 
as  to  duty,  and  earnestly  engaged  in  meditation  and  prayer,  he 
took  up  Bogatsky,  and  as  he  opened  the  book  the  first  word  that 
met  his  eye  was  Predige  (Preach).  He  closed  the  book.  "  I  then 
felt,"  said  he,  "  'Woe  is  unto  me,  if  I  preach  not  the  Gospel.' 
Prostrate  upon  my  knees,  I  prayed :  '  Take  away  my  spirit,  0 
God,  rather  than  I  should  enter  upon  the  work  without  Thy 
spirit"  He  was  slow  to  believe  that  the  Lord  wanted  him  to 
labor,  as  a  minister,  in  His  vineyard.  He  dreamed  that  he  was 
accosted  by  his  pastor  in  the  following  language  :  "  William,  why 
do  you  not  call  to  see  me  ?  Is  it  because  you  fear  I  will  urge  you 
to  study  for  the  ministry  ?  Are  you  afraid  to  suffer  for  Christ's 
sake?"  "  I  am  not  afraid  to  suffer,"  was  the  reply  ;  "  but  I  have 
no  time  to  come,  except  on  Saturday."  "  Well,  then,"  said  the 
good  man,  "  come  at  that  time."  He  met  the  pastor  in  the  course 
of  a  few  days,  and  what  struck  him  as  most  remarkable  was,  that 
this  identical  conversation  occurred. 

On  the  morning  of  May  12th,  1807,  in  the  thirtieth  year  of  his 
age,  as  a  theological  student  Mr.  Beates  entered  the  study  of  Dr. 
Helmuth.  Under  his  instructions  and  those  of  his  colleague,  Dr. 
Schmidt,  he  continued  his  studies  for  three  years. 

He  was  licensed  by  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania,  and  on  the  8th 
of  July,  1810,  preached  his  introductory  discourse  in  the  War- 
wick Pastorate.  His  labors  were  arduous  during  these  twenty- 
six  vears,  but  his  success  was  very  great.  As  his  health,  however, 
suffered  from  constant  exposure  to  all  kinds  of  weather,  for  his 
congregations  were  distant  and  his  members  scattered,  he  felt  the 
importance  and  necessity  of  rest.  He  accordingly  resigned  his 
position  and  removed  to  Lancaster,  preaching  occasionally,  and 
performing  other  religious  services  when  an  opportunity  offered. 
At  a  subsequent  period  he  was  prevailed  upon  to  take  charge  of 
Zion's  (German  Lutheran)  Church  in  Lancaster,  which  was  in  a 
distracted  and  languishing  condition.  AVith  his  accustomed  zeal 
and  energy  he  took  hold  of  the  enterprise,  refusing  all  compen- 
sation for  his  services,  yet  stipulating  with  the  congregation  that 
they  regularly  raise  the  promised  amount  of  salary  and  appropri- 
ate it  to  the  liquidation  of  the  church  debt.     He  was  their  pas- 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  53 

tor  for  fifteen  years,  but  in  1853  the  increasing  infirmities  of  age 
constrained  him  to  retire  from  the  active  diities  of  the  ministry, 
to  resign  to  other  hands  the  work  in  which  he  had  been  so  long 
engaged.  His  visitations  to  the  sick  and  the  infirm  he  continued 
so  long  as  he  was  able  until  within  a  few  months  of  his  death. 
He  frequently  spoke  of  his  approaching  change  with  satisfaction 
and  delight,  and  referred  to  the  eternal  world  as  a  place  of  activ- 
ity. "  Heaven  I  look  upon,"  he  said,  "  as  a  High  School.  The 
schools  on  earth  are  only  primary.  In  that  very  thing  in  which 
we  most  excel  here  below  will  we  advance  with  the  greatest 
rapidity  in  the  world  above." 

He  embraced  every  opportunity  which  occurred  to  preach  the 
truths  of  the  Gospel  to  his  children  and  to  all  who  approached 
him.  "  In  view  of  death,"  he  remarked,  "  I  have  three  things  to 
say  to  my  family  :  Serve  the  Lord,  be  liberal  to  the  Church,  be 
kind  to  the  poor."  His  son  Henry  observed:  "Father,  n^ou  have 
been  serving  the  Lord  all  your  life,  at  least  for  seventy-five  years, 
do  you  feel  that  you  merit  any  thing  for  all  these  years  of  ser- 
vice?" "No!"  was  his  emphatic  reply,  "I  have  nothing  in  the 
way  of  merit ;  I  depend  entirely  upon  the  merits  of  Christ."  He 
added :  "  Here  I  am,  aged  and  helpless,  and  though  I  had  untold 
wealth  it  would  avail  nothing  in  the  hour  of  eternity.  "What  a 
miserable  creature  I  would  be  now  were  it  not  for  religion,  true 
religion." 

"I  never  saw  him,"  says  Dr.  Muhlenberg,  "without  being 
more  and  more  deeply  impressed  with  the  thought  that  he  was  a 
good  man,  an  Israelite,  indeed,  in  whom  there  was  no  guile." 

His  sermons  were  also  eminently  scriptural,  and  the  truth  was 
always  presented  with  great  originality  and  force.  His  fidelity 
no  one  could  doubt.  On  a  certain  occasion,  as  he  descended  from 
the  pulpit,  he  was  accosted  by  one  of  the  church  ofiicers  who  was 
apprehensive  that  the  discourse  just  preached  was  entirely  too 
pointed  and  would  give  offence.  "Did  I  utter  anything,"  said 
the  preacher,  "not  contained  in  the  Bible?"  "No,  I  cannot  say 
that  you  did,"  was  the  reply.  "  When  I  came  hither  I  found  that 
Bible,"  said  Mr.  Beates,  pointing  to  it  in  the  pulpit,  "and  I  pre- 
sumed that  you  wanted  me  to  preach  from  it.  According  to  your 
own  admission  I  confined  myself  to  its  teachings.  Then  why  find 
fault  with  me?"     This  response,  if   it  did  not  entirely   satisfy, 


54  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

completely  silenced  the  fault-finder.     In  the  pulpit  his  manner 
was  exceedingly  natural. 

On  a  certain  occasion  an  individual  came  to  him,  apparently 
in  the  deepest  distress,  pei'plexed  in  reference  to  some  mystery 
in  the  Bible.  He  at  first  supposed  that  he  was  concerned  with 
regard  to  the  salvation  of  his  soul,  and  he  rejoiced  in  the  oppor- 
tunity of  directing  an  awakened  sinner  to  the  Saviour.  But  how 
great  his  disappointment  on  learning  that  the  man's  solicitude 
was  occasioned  by  the  difficult  question,  "Where  did  Cain  ob- 
tain his  wife?"  "Sir,"  said  the  reverend  father,  without  being 
in  the  least  ruffled  by  the  inquiry,  "Sir,  go  home  and  sleep  a 
night,  return  to  me  to-morrow  morning,  and  bring  with  you  some 
proof  that  it  will  be  of  any  benefit  to  you  to  have  the  question 
answered  and  I  will  answer  it  for  you."  The  next  day  the  man 
returned,  when  Mr.  Beates  exhorted  him  to  repent  of  his  sins  and 
believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  be  converted.  He  engaged 
with  him  in  earnest  and  importunate  prayer,  and  soon  found  him 
rejoicing  in  Christ. 

Referring  one  day  to  his  pastoral  labors,  he  said,  "  I  discrimi- 
nate between  the  rich  and  the  poor,  but  it  is  always  in  favor  of 
the  latter."  Ministerial  brethren  often  sought  his' counsel  and 
direction.  To  a  young  man  in  the  tide  of  his  popularity,  caressed 
and  admired,  who  had  just  been  called  to  one  of  our  most  promi- 
nent churches,  he  said,  '"  To-day  it  is  '  Hosanna,'  to-morrow  it  will 
be  '  Crucify  him'." 

We  heard  him  once  speak,  among  other  trials  connected  with 
his  ministry,  of  a  suit  brought  against  him,  when  seventy-eight 
years  of  age,  to  recover,  in  accordance  with  a  legislative  act  of 
1729-30,  the  penalty  of  £50  for  marrying  a  minor  without  the 
consent  of  the  parents.  Although  it  was  clearly  shown  in  the 
trial  that  there  was  no  intention  on  his  part  to  violate  the  law  or 
do  the  plaintiff  any  injury,  that  the  defendant  had  taken  every 
means  in  his  power  to  ascertain  the  age  of  the  parties  and  was 
assured  thai  all  was  right ;  also  that  there  was  a  trap  laid,  a  pre- 
concerted arrangement  between  the  father  and  the  son  to  induce 
the  minister  to  perform  the  ceremony,  so  that  the  £50,  just  the 
sum  of  money  required  by  the  father  for  the  completion  of  a  dwel- 
ling then  in  process  of  erection,  might  be  secured,  the  Court  im- 
posed the  fine,  alleging  that  the  publication  of  the  bans  was 
necessary,  a  law  regarded  as  obsolete,  of  which  Mr.  Beates  had 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  55 

never  heard  during  a  ministry  of  nearly  half  a  century.  There 
was  no  redress  and  he  had  to  submit.  In  speaking  of  the  injustice 
done  him  in  this  case,  said  he,  "  The  figure  of  Justice  which  sur- 
mounts the  steeple  of  the  Court  House  has  a  pair  of  scales  in  her 
hand  to  show  justice  is  to  be  administered  in  the  court- room  be- 
low, while  there  is  a  rod  (lightning-rod)  behind."  "  This,"  he 
continued,  "  should  be  reversed.  The  rod  should  be  placed  in  the 
hand  and  the  scales  in  the  rear." 

He  had  an  aversion  for  controversy,  and  carefully  avoided  all 
discussions  conducted  in  a  spirit  of  recrimination  and  unfriendly 
criticism.  "I  hold,"  said  he,  "  to  neither  party  in  the  Church. 
I  am  no  party  man.  I  will  not  share  in  the  family  quarrel.  My 
time  is  nearly  out.  My  mind  is  fixed.  I  am  waiting  to  go  where 
we  shall  know  all  these  things.  Some  things  I  know,  others  I  do 
not  know.  The  Lord's  Supper  is  a  mystery.  Why  the  bread  and 
wine  are  called  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  I  do  not  know.  But 
I  believe,  else  I  make  Christ  a  liar.  Yet  I  do  not  believe  that  I 
eat  his  carnal  body,  the  body  that  hung  upon  the  tree."  On 
another  occasion  he  said,  "  That  Christ  is  present  in  the  Sacrament 
I  have  no  doubt.  My  God  has  said  so  and  tliat  is  sufficient.  How 
belongs  to  Him.  To  receive  Him  belongs  to  me.  I  have  enough 
to  do  with  my  hows.  How  I  live,  how  I  love,  hoiv  I  fight,  how  I 
partake  of  the  Supj)er,  and  if  I  am  not  careful  my  Jiow  (wie)  will 
at  last  be  turned  into  ivoc.  The  Saviour  is  present  at  my  Commu- 
nion, He  is  with  me  in  the  Supper,  the  manner  belongs  to  Him." 
He  added  :  "Many  a  so-called  doctor  dis2)utes  and  disputes  and 
reaps  no  comfort  Irom  the  Sacrament,  whilst  the  honest  trusting 
tradesman,  who  labors  from  Monday  morning  till  Saturday  night, 
reads,  believes,  partakes  and  is  blessed.  No  one  who  attempts  to 
go  behind  the  simple  words  of  Christ  can  give  any  satisfactory 
explanation." 

A  prominent  trait  in  his  character  was  the  exemplification  of 
the  apostolic  command,  "  Follow  peace  with  all  men."  "  If  indi- 
viduals," he  said,  "  would  only  turn  their  ire  against  Satan  and 
the  old  Adam  they  might  fight  as  much  as  they  pleased."  Some 
of  his  parishioners  were  very  anxious  to  know  what  his  political 
sentiments  were.  One  of  them  approached  him  one  day  and  in- 
quired "  What  his  politics  might  he,  as  he  subscribed  for  the  news- 
papers of  both  parties?"  "Oh,"  he  replied,  "I  am  a  Lutheran." 
They  never  could  tell  whether  he  was  Whig  or  Democrat. 


56  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

He  possessed  a  fund  of  rich  quaint  humor  which  would  spring 
forth  in  spontaneous  expressions.  He  loved  a  little  jileasantry 
and  often  made  a  playful  or  witty  remark.  Even  during  his 
last  days  this  natural  vein  of  humor  would  manifest  itself. 
Speaking  of  his  death,  he  looked  up  at  those  who  were  present, 
with  that  twinkle  of  the  eye  which  was  peculiar  to  him,  and  said, 
"After  I  have  gone  it  will  be  asked  of  what  did  he  die?"  To 
which  it  may  be  truly  answered,  "  He  died  of  hardness  of  heart," 
alluding  to  the  disease,  ossification  of  the  heart,  from  which  he 
was  suffering.  Some  years  ago,  when  a  general  interest  prevailed 
in  almost  everj^  community  on  the  temperance  question,  and  in- 
dividuals were  disposed  to  sign  the  pledge  of  total  abstinence, 
his  neighbor.  Bishop  Bowman,  called  to  see  him,  and  inquired, 
"If  he,  too,  had  joined  the  society?"  "Oh,  yes,"  he  replied, 
"  many  years  ago.  When  I  was  a  youth  I  was  confirmed,  and 
then  I  promised  to  renounce  the  Devil  and  all  his  works."  His 
friend  was  amused  with  the  novelty  of  his  reply,  but  agreed  with 
him  that  he  was  a  member  of  the  temperance  society.  Some 
one  connected  with  his  congregation  once  sent  him  a  verbal  mes- 
sage, expressing  his  dissatisfaction  and  displeasure  with  some- 
thing he  had  presented  in  one  of  his  discourses.  "  Give  him  my 
compliments,"  said  Mr.  Beates,  "  and  tell  him  I  am  not  at  all  sat- 
isfied with  myself,  and,  therefore,  I  cannot  censure  him  for  being 
dissatisfied  with  me." 


REV.   DR.  FREDERICK    HENRY    QUITMAN 

never  attended  any  of  the  General  Meetings  of  the  Church,  nor 
any  Synod  but  the  one  to  which  he  belonged,  and  hence  was  per- 
sonally known  to  but  few  of  our  ministers  south  of  New  York. 

He  was  born  in  "Westphalia  in  1760,  and  after  his  admission  to 
the  ministry  he  became  pastor  on  the  Dutch  island  of  Curacoa, 
West  Indies,  where  he  remained  fourteen  years.  In  1795  he 
came  to  the  State  of  New  York,  and  served  the  Church  in  various 
places  until  1828.  He  died  in  1832,  aged  72.  For  a  list  of  his 
published  writings,  see  Bibliotheca  Americana.  The  following 
extracts  from  Sprague's  Annals  are  interesting  : 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  57 

k 
FItOM  THE  KKV.  AU<irSTVS  WA(KEUII.\<J  KN,   D.   I>. 

The  opportunities  which  I  enjoyed  for  becoming  acquainted 
■with  the  late  Dr.  Quitman  were  various  and  ample,  both  of  us 
being  fellow-laborers  in  the  same  portion  of  our  Lord's  vineyard, 
members  of  the  same  Ministeriura,  fellow  officers  to  the  same  body, 
and  still  more  closely  connected  by  my  marriage  with  the  only 
daughter  of  his  second  wife. 

Dr.  Quitman's  personal  appearance  was  very  imposing.  His 
well-proportioned  and  ever  erect  frame  stood  full  six  feet  high 
and  was  of  great  bulk,  weighing  generally  about,  and  sometimes 
above,  thi'ee  hundred  pounds.  When,  as  a  youth  of  nineteen 
years,  he  entered  the  University  of  Halle,  one  of  the  professors, 
surveying  his  frame,  burst  out  into  the  exclamation,  "  Quanta 
ossa  !  Qitanivm,  robur  !  Young  man,  you  have  in  you  the  stamina 
for  a  life  of  a  hundred  years."  His  bodily  powers  were  very 
great.  His  small  grey  ej^es  ca-st  a  quick  piercing  glance,  and  in 
the  corners  of  his  small  mouth  a  benign  smile  was  almost  con- 
stantly lurking,  so  that  even  young  children,  to  whom  he  was  a 
great  friend,  looked  at  him  with  confidence.  His  mind  being 
equal  in  power  to  his  body,  imparted  to  him  a  high  degree  of  both 
moral  and  physical  courage,  which  manifested  itself  whenever 
th(?re  was  occasion  for  it. 

Dr.  Quitman's  character  in  society  was  conspicuous  and  of  high 
standing.  On  account  of  his  various  learning,  his  refined  man- 
ners and  his  great  conversational  powers,  he  was  sought  and  ad- 
mired by  all.  Having,  after  the  termination  of  his  University 
studies,  been  for  several  years  private  tutor  to  the  children  of  the 
Prince  of  Waldeck,  he  was  accustomed  to  move  in  the  society  of 
the  higher  ranks,  and  when  settled  as  pastor  of  the  Lutheran 
Church  in  Ehinebeck  was  not  only  received  but  sought  by  the 
distinguished  families  of  the  vicinity,  as  previous  to  his  removal 
to  the  United  States  had  been  the  case  on  the  Island  of  Curacoa. 
By  his  congregation  he  was  deeply  reverenced. 

As  to  the  religious  and  theological  character  of  Dr.  Quitman, 
it  was  of  the  liberal  cast,  he  having  been  a  disciple  of  the  highly 
distinguished  Professor  Semler. 

In  preaching  he  was  brief,  biblical,  practical  and  impressive, 
inculcating  with  great  energy  the  Christian  ethics — his  command- 
ing appearance  and  deep-toned  voice  in  the  pulpit  contributing 


58  FIFTY   YEARS    IN   THE    LUTHEPvAN    MIKISTEY. 

much  to  the  eifect  of  his  discourses.  Sometimes,  when  treating 
pai'ticular  subjects  or  preaching  on  particular  occasions,  he  \vouhl 
elaborate  his  sermons  with  great  care.  When  at  home  he  never 
failed  to  make  a  complete  skeleton  of  his  discourse,  but  when 
away  from  home  he  was  "  semper  parattis,"  and  often  preached 
seven  or  eight  times  in  one  week,  either  in  the  German,  Low 
Dutch  or  English  language.  He  never  used  a  manuscript  in  the 
pulpit. 

Dr.  Quitman  was  a  man  of  great  independence  of  character, 
and  was  always  ready  for  any  emergency.  He  had  a  retentive 
memory,  considerable  imagination  and  quick  comprehension  of 
characters  and  things.  Flashes  of  wit,  some  pleasing,  some  scath- 
ing, would,  on  proper  occasions,  dart  forth  from  his  prolific  and 
well  furnished  mind.  He  was,  in  the  years  of  his  vigor,  fond  of 
horses,  so  that  generally  in  his  frequent  travels  he  handled  whip 
and  line  himself.  When  a  student  at  the  University  he  delighted 
in  driving  coach  and  four.  His  various  talents  and  great  acquire- 
ments in  sciences  and  languages  never  left  him  without  one  or 
more  students,  as  well  in  theology  as  in  the  classics,  and  the  busi- 
ness of  teaching  always  had  for  him  peculiar  attractions.  He  had 
a  charitable  and  generous  spirit,  and  his  parsonage  was  the  seat 
of  a  cordial  hospitality. 

To  furnish  you  with  anecdotes  relating  to  my  friend  might  be 
somewhat  invidious.  I  will,  however,  mention  two  or  three  in 
proof  of  his  courage,  determination  and  ever  ready  wit.  When 
he  was  engaged  to  the  lady  who  became  his  second  wife  and  who 
lived  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  he  came  one  day  to  the  city 
of  Hudson,  intending  to  pay  her  a  visit  with  a  view  to  the  final 
settlement  of  all  matters  relating  to  their  mutual  concerns.  But 
as  a  most  violent  wind  was  raging  at  the  time  on  the  water,  and 
tossing  up  high  waves,  no  ferryman  could  be  induced,  for  love  or 
money,  to  carry  the  doctor  over.  Unwilling  to  be  disappointed, 
he  walked  and  looked  about  until  he  met  with  two  rough-looking 
tars,  whom,  showing  them  a  hard  silver  dollar,  he  asked  whether 
they  had  sufBcient  courage,  for  such  a  reward,  to  set  him  over. 
Readily  consenting,  they  caried  their  charge,  safe  as  Ctesar  was 
once  carried,  through  storm  and  waves,  and  received  their  well- 
earned  reward. 

An  aged  female  member  of  his  congregation,  looking  up  to  his 
face,  asked  him,  "Dominie,  have  you  had  the  small  pox  f"     "No, 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    TIIK    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  59 

motlier,  it  lias  liad  me,"  was  his  rejily.  That  disease  had  left  its 
deep  marks  over  his  whole  face. 

Walking  once  in  company  with  liis  step-son,  the  late  Rev.  Fred- 
erick G.  Mayer,  in  the  streets  in  the  city  of  Albany,  they  were 
met  by  an  uncommonly  large  man,  apparently  from  the  country. 
The  man  seeing  the  doctor  stopped  short,  and  scanning  his  frame 
from  foot  to  head,  exclaimed,  "I  wonder  who's  the  biggest,  you 
or  I  ?"  "  I  know,"  was  the  quick  reply  of  the  doctor  as  he  walk- 
ed on,  "  who  is  the  biggest  fool  of  the  two." 

The  doctor  being,  at  a  certain  time,  sent  by  the  Ministerium  to 
allay  some  difference  between  a  congregation  and  their  pastor, 
spoke  on  the  occasion,  as  was  his  wont,  as  a  man  of  authority. 
An  elderly  man,  being  displeased  with  his  authoritative  bearing, 
turned  to  the  reverend  pacificator  and  said,  with  a  taunting  air, 
"  And  what  are  ministers  then?"  "  We  are  grindstones  to  grind 
rough  people  smooth,"  was  the  answer.     Ibid  118. 

One  Lord's  day,  arriving  at  rather  an  early  hour  near  the 
church  of  a  distant  congregation,  he  was  informed  that  a  certain 
man  by  the  name  of  Finger,  living  near  the  church  although  not 
a  member  of  it,  had  slandered  him  in  the  congregation.  The  ser- 
vices of  the  sanctuary  being  closed,  the  doctor  alluded  to  the 
affair,  the  guilty  man  being  present,  and  closed  with  the  follow- 
ing observation  :  "But  I  see  that  the  Devil  has  had  a,  finger  in 
this  busine.s.s,  and,  therefore,  no  one  will  believe  a  word  of  it." 


FIJOM  THE  ULV.  G.  A.  UNTNER,  U.  D. 

I  met  Dr.  Quitman  frequently  in  our  Synodical  Conventions, 
heard  him  preach  some  very  excellent  sermons,  and  always  re- 
garded him  as  one  of  our  able.st  divines  and  most  accomplished 
pulpit  orators.  He  was  President  of  our  New  York  Ministerium 
when  I  was  received  as  a  licentiate  by  that  body,  in  Albany,  in 
the  year  1818.  I  recollect  that,  during  that  session  of  the  Minis- 
terium, a  complaint  was  brought  by  one  of  the  churches  against 
its  Pastor  for  some  misconduct ;  and,  while  the  Ministerium  was 
engaged  in  investigating  the  charges  against  the  Pastor,  a  lawyer 
from  the  congregation,  who  had  brought  the  complaint,  delivered 
himself  of  a  pretty  long  speech.  The  Doctor,  who  was  in  the 
chair,  listened  to  it  until  he  became  wearied  by  its  length  and 
seeming  irrelevancy,  when  he  turned  to  one  of  the  commissioners 


CO  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

from  the  congregation, — an  old  acquaintance,  in  whose  honesty 
and  good  sense  he  had  the  fullest  confidence, — and  said, — "  Mr. 
is  a  lawyer — I  don't  care  about  law  points  and  law  argu- 
ments in  the  case — I  want  to  know  the  plain  truth — tell  me,  my 
friend — how  is  it  ?  Has  your  minister  done  wrong  ?  Have  you 
lost  your  confidence  in  him,  and  have  matters  gone  so  far  that  he 
can  no  longer  be  useful  among  you,  and  do  you  really  want  him  to 
leave  you  ?  Tell  me,  upon  your  honor,  as  a  Christian,  here,  in 
the  presence  of  God  and  this  Ministerium,  what  you  think  ought 
to  be  done  in  the  case."  The  appeal  was  immediately  answered 
in  the  same  frank  and  candid  manner  in  which  it  had  been  made. 
The  aged  member  of  the  congregation,  whom  the  Doctor  had 
known  for  many  years,  arose  and  replied, — "I  must  say,  that  I 
think  it  is  best,  in  view  of  all  circumstances,  that  we  and  our 
minister  should  part.  I  am  sorry  it  is  so,  but  I  cannot  resist  the 
evidence  of  it."  This  settled  the  matter.  The  Ministerium  agreed 
to  dissolve  the  connection,  under  certain  conditions  satisfactory 
to  both  parties. 

Dr.  Quitman  was  present  and  presided  at  my  Ordination,  as 
Pastor  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  of  Schoharie,  in  June, 
1819.  He  preached  the  Ordination  Sermon,  and  I  preached  my 
Introductory  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day.  After  service  he 
came  to  me  in  the  parsonage  and  said, — "  My  dear  young  brother, 
this  has  been  to  me  a  solemn  day — your  sermon  awakened  within 
me  deep  emotion — I  feel  that  the  connection  this  day  established 
between  you  and  this  church  will  be  a  lasting  and  happy  one,  and 
will  result  in  the  salvation  of  souls."  The  words  seemed  to  me 
prophetic,  The  connection  lasted  thirty  years;  and,  during  that 
time,  we  were  blessed  with  several  gracious  visitations  of  the  Di- 
vine Spirit,  which  resulted  in  the  hopeful  conversion  of  many 
souls. 

It  was  only  a  few  years  after  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary 
War  that  the  Doctor  took  charge  of  the  Church  at  Schoharie ; 
and,  as  the  people  had  been  deprived,  in  a  great  measure,  of  the 
means  of  grace,  during  the  War,  they  had  not  much  regard  for 
religion,  and  still  less  for  its  ministers  and  institutions.  I  recall 
several  anecdotes,  illustrative  of  the  then  existing  state  of  things, 
which  he  related  to  me.  One  day,  as  he  was  standing  at  the  door 
of  the  parsonage,  one  of  his  parishioners,  who,  for  some  trifling 
ofience,  absented  himself  from  the  church,  came  along,  and  the 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  Gl 

Doctor  stepped  out,  and  asked, — "Mr.  .  ...,  what  is  the  reason 
you  do  not  come  to  chureh  any  more?"  "Ah,"  replied  he,  "  I  am 
afraid  you  are  one  of  those  shepherds  who. care  more  for  the  fleece 
than  for  the  sheep."  The  Doctor,  answering  him,  said  :  "  You  are 
no  longer  a  sheep — you  are  a  goat."  This  reply  to  the  insulting 
language  of  a  refractory  member  had  the  desired  effect.  It  brought 
him  to  reflection,  and  he  afterwards  came  to  church  and  acknowl- 
edged that  he  had  done  wrong. 

The  Doctor  was  invited  to  preach  on  the  occasion  of  a  Masonic 
celebration.  A  member  of  his  church  heard  of  it,  and  came  to 
his  house,  deeply  exercised  in  res2:)ect  to  the  matter,  and  said  to 
him, — "  My  dear  Pastor,  I  have  understood  that  you  are  to  preach 
before  that  Society  w'hich  is  in  league  wdth  the  Devil ;  and  I  could 
not  rest  till  I  had  come  and  told  you  my  feelings  on  the  subject." 
"  I  am  sorry,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  that  you  feel  so,  and  to  satisfy 
you  that  I  intend  to  do  no  evil,  I  will  read  you  the  sermon  which 
I  have  written  for  the  occasion."  So  he  produced  the  sermon  ; 
and,  as  he  read  the  text,  the  simple-hearted  man  exclaimed, — 
"  My  dear  Sir,  are  you  going  to  preach  to  these  Masons  from  the 
Bible?  Then  I  have  no  objections — it  is  all  right,  and  I'll  come 
and  hear  you."  So  he  did,  and  was  much  pleased  and  edified  by 
the  sermon. 

At  one  of  our  Synodical  meetings  a  protest  was  presented,  cen- 
suring Dr.  Quitman  for  exercising  his  authority  as  President  of 
the  Synod,  in  changing  the  place  of  meeting  from  a  locality  where 
a  dangerous  and  fatal  disease  was  prevailing.  The  protest  met 
the  approval  of  the  Synod,  thereby  implying  a  censure  on  the 
President.  He  felt  himself  called  upon  to  repel  the  charge  ;  and, 
I  well  remember  the  terms  in  which  he  did  it.  "  I  own,"  said  he, 
"  that  I  exercised  an  authority  not  expressly  granted  in  the  Con- 
stitution ;  but  I  meant  it  for  your  good.  My  object  w^as  to  save 
you  from  imminent  danger.  SujDpose  I  had  suffered  you  to  run  into 
the  danger,  and  you  had  perished,  would  that  have  been  right? 
I  tell  you  nay — I  never  could  have  forgiven  myself  for  sacrificing 
such  a  fine  looking  and  worthy  band  of  ministers  to  the  Jolly  of 
carrying  out  their  views  of  constitutional  authority." 

Dr.  Quitman  was  one  of  those  men  who  never  fail  to  make  an 
impression,  by  their  fine  personal  appearance,  wherever  they  are 
seen.  He  had  a  cheerful  disposition,  was  remarkable  for  his  con- 
versational powers,  and  could  readily   accommodate  himself  to 


62  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

any  class  of  society  into  which  he  was  thrown,  always  sustaining 
the  honor  and  dignity  of  the  clerical  character.  In  the  pulpit  he 
was  highly  animated,  entering  into  the  spirit  of  his  subject,  and 
generally  carrying  his  hearers  with  him  by  his  elocjuent  and  forci- 
ble appeals.  In  his  theological  views  he  doubtless  sympathized  with 
those  who  have  a  general  dislike  for  creeds,  and  hold  to  free  in- 
terpretations of 'Scripture,  without  much  regard  to  their  dogmatic 
sense  and  ecclesiastical  construction.  In  his  intercourse  with  his 
people  he  was,  in  a  high  degree,  edifying.  There  are  still  some 
in  our  churches  who  have  sat  under  his  ministry,  and  who  recol- 
lect many  of  his  sayings,  and  speak  of  him  with  respect  and 
veneration. 

These  were  the  leading  older  men  of  "  Fifty  Years  Ago,"  all  of 
whom  I  have  seen,  except  Dr.  Quitman,  and  a  few  of  whom  I  have 
known  intimately.  There  were  a  few  others  of  that  generation 
whose  names  and  persons  were  not  so  familiar,  or  who  were  seldom 
or  never  seen  in  the  Church  Conventions,  however  influential  they 
may  have  been  in  their  immediate  circle.  These  shall  be  com- 
memorated in  another  book,  Providence  permitting. 


FIPTY    YEAKS   IN    THE   LUTIIELAX    SIlKISTFvY.  63 


SECTION  n. 

Tliere  was  anotlier  but  youvgcr  class  of  men  on  the  stage  of 
action  in  those  days,  whom  I  desigilate  as  the  men  of  the  Tran- 
sition Period.  Most  of  them  overlap  with  the  older  men  of  "  Fii'ty 
Years  Ago,"  but  they  properly  belong  to  more  modern  times. 

AUGUSTUS    WACKERilAGEN. 

I  never  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  Dr.  Wackerhagen  but  once, 
and  that  was  at  the  General  Synod  in  Chambersburg  in  1839. 
He  was  born  in  Hanover,  Germany,  May  22,  1774.  He  was  edu- 
cated at  Goettingen,  and  after  the  completion  of  his  studies  was 
for  a  time  employed  as  a  teacher  in  a  seminary  for  young  ladies, 
and  also  as  2)rivate  tutor  in  a  nobleman's  family.  He  came  to 
this  country  in  1801,  and  upon  his  arrival  he  became  tutor  to  the 
only  son  of  Mr.  Bohlen,  a  wealthy  merchant  of  Philadelphia,  in 
whose  family  he  remained  three  years.  Whilst  here  he  received 
a  call  from  the  churches  of  Scholiarie  and  Coblekill,  but  did  not 
accept  because  he  had  made  arrangements  to  visit  Europe.  On 
his  return  voyage  he  was  shipwrecked  and  lost  every  thing  he 
had.  Finding  Schoharie  still  vacant,  he  accepted  the  call.  This 
was  in  1805.  He  remained  there  ten  years,  where  he  was  active 
in  the  cause  of  the  Bible  society,  three  years  before  the  American 
Bible  Society  was  formed. 

In  1816  he  became  pastor  of  various  churches  in  Columbia 
county.  New  York,  and  for  a  season  taught  a  cla-'-'s  of  young  ladies 
at  his  house.  He  also,  at  different  times,  taught  young  men  the 
ancient  languages,  &c.,  and  for  several  years  he  had  charge  of  the 
academy  at  Clermont,  where  lie  died  November  1,  1865,  in  his 
ninety-first  year. 

For  many  years  he  was  a  diligent  student  of  the  Bible.  The 
Hebrew,  Syriac,  Greek,  German  and  French  versions  were  daily 
consulted  by  him.  The  degree  of  D.  D.  was  conferred  on  him  by 
Union  College  in  1825.  Except  a  sermon  in  the  Lutheran  Pulpit, 
I,  242,  tlie  only  work  he  published  was  a  German  volume  on 
"Faith  and  Morals,"  Philadelphia,  1804. 


64  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

He  was  a  faithful  pastor,  and  sometimes  would  ride  fourteen  or 
sixteen  miles  to  see  an  invalid  member  of  his  church. 

Dr.  Wackerhagen  never  associated  much  with  our  men  outside 
of  his  own  Synod.  He  was  at  the  General  Synod  in  Chambers- 
burg  in  18  9.  but  he  did  not  seem  to  sympathize  with  the  men  or 
the  policy  of  that  body.  I  thought  that  both  he  and  his  colleague, 
Dr.  Miller,  felt  out  of  place.  He  took  little  part  in  the  proceed- 
ings, but  when  he  did  speak  it  was  to  some  purpose. 

Some  subject  relating  to  the  Franckean  Synod  was  discussed, 
during  which  Dr.  Lintner  quoted  Schmucker's  Popular  Theology 
as  Lutheran  authority,  and  among  other  things  charged  the 
Franckeans  with  believing  that  the  Divine  nature  of  Christ  suf- 
fered upon  the  cross  as  well  as  the  human.     Dr.  W ,  though 

not  favorable  to  the  FranckeansJ  rather  severely  rebuked  Lintner 
for  quoting  as  authority  a  book  that  had  never  been  officially  rec- 
ognized as  such.  "And  as  for  the  other  point,"  he  said,  "what 
you  call  heresy  in  those  men  is  taught  in  your  own  hymn  book," 
and  then  quoted  the  lines: 

"  When  God,  the  mighty  makei",  died, 
For  man,  the  creature's  sin." 

Liutner  yielded  the  first  point  and  could  not  deny  the  second. 

Prof.  Stoever  thus  speaks  of  him :  His  funeral  services  were 
invariably  prepared  with  the  greatest  care,  and  much  valuable 
truth  communicated,  because,  as  he  was  want  to  say,  on  such  oc- 
casions many  persons  were  present  who,  at  any  other  time,  seldom 
or  never  entered  the  sanctuary.  He  always  specially  addressed 
the  mourners,  the  bearers  and  the  congregation.  In  the  earlier 
years  of  his  ministry,  the  irrepressible  instincts  of  his  humanity 
and  his  great  kindness  of  heart,  led  him  to  dwell  on  the  best 
qualities  of  those  who  had  just  departed.  It  was  his  practice  to 
say  nothing  but  good  concerning  the  dead.  De  morivis  vil  nisi 
honum.  But  in  after  years  he  modified  his  course,  the  result  of 
additional  experience,  and  of  having  incidentally  overheard  a 
conversation  between  two  fishermen,  engaged  in  their  regular 
vocation  on  the  Hudson.  They  "had  toiled  all  the  night  and 
had  taken  nothing  ;"  drenched  with  rain  and  exhausted  with  labor, 
disapj)ointed  and  tired,  they  were  not  in  a  very  good  humor, 
which,  in  the  one,  showed  itself  in  very  profane  utterances,  the 
repetition  of  the  most  terrific  imprecations.     This  greatly  shocked 


FIFTY    YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  65 

his  companion  who  severely  rebuked  liim,  and  inquired,  "  "What 
Avould  become  of  him  when  he  died,  if  he  used  sucli  hmguage  ?" 
To  which  he  replied  :  "  Oh  !  I  sh;ill  be  safe  enough  ;  for  my  friends 
will  get  Dr.  Wackerhagen  to  preach  my  funeral  sermon,  and  he 
will  be  sure  to  send  me  to  heaven." 

The  unvarying  kindness  of  his  manners  and  heart,  his  genial 
hospitality  and  constant  courtesy,  were  among  his  prominent 
characteristics.  He  was,  in  the  full  sense  of  the  word,  a  Chris- 
tian gentleman.  He  was  most  careful  not  to  wound  the  feelings, 
or  injure  the  reputation  of  another.  He  was  determined  in  the 
maintenance  of  his  own  rights,  but  he  was  equally  considerate  of 
the  rights  of  others.  He  was  a  man  of  great  hun^ility,  alwavs 
"  esteeming  others  better  than  himself."  The  purity  of  his  char- 
acter was  sullied  by  no  stain,  by  no  gross  or  unworthy  acts.  His 
life  was  beyond  reproach  or  suspicion.  He  was  a  Christian  from 
conviction,  not  from  impulse ;  from  love,  not  from  fear,  and  he 
endeavored  continually  to  exemplify  the  sincerity  of  his  principles 
in  his  conduct.  His  faith  was  simple  and  child-like  in  its  exer- 
cises, his  life  laborious  and  useful.  You  could  ever  notice  the 
sincere  desire,  the  habitual,  honest  effort  to  obey  God's  word,  to 
bring  his  life  in  harmony  with  its  teachings,  the  struggle  of  an 
earnest  human  soul  towards  what  is  good  and  best.  And  it  was 
this  that  gave  unity,  efficiency  and  consistency  to  his  character 
and  permeated  his  entire'  actions.  So  calm  and  self-composed  was 
he  at  all  times,  that  scarcely  a  ripple  disturbed  the  tranquility  of 
his  life.  The  impress  of  his  character  he  left  unto  those  who  came 
under  his  influence.  His  ministrations  were  practical.  His  great 
aim  was  not  so  much,  that  his  people  might  profess  Christ,  as  that 
they  might  walk  in  Christ's  way — that  they  might  be  "neither 
barren  nor  unfruitful  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ," 
but  faithful  and  exemplary  Christians,  "  always  abounding  in  the 
work  of  the  Lord."  He  labored  with  unwearied  perseverance, 
with  an  unselfish  devotion  for  the  good  of  those,  committed  to  his 
charge.  To  them  he  devoted  his  best  energies;  to  their  highest 
welfare  all  his  labors,  his  untiring  efforts  were  steadily  and  uni- 
formly directed. 

He  was  emphatically  a  man  of  peace,  scrupulously  avoiding 
those  measures  which  so  often  lead  to  the  separation  of  friends, 
and  most  assiduously  "  endeavoring  to  keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit 
in  the  bond  of  peace."     He  had  no  sympathy  with  the  controver- 


66  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

sial  spirit  of  the  day.  He  had  no  taste  for  the  personal  polemics 
and  the  ecclesiastical  strife  which  so  often  disturb  the  Church, 
He  was  wont  to  say  that  these  exhibitions  were  destructive  to 
holiness  of  heart  and  the  prosperity  of  Zion.  When  diflerences 
existed  among  the  brethren,  he  always  tried  to  assuage  asperities, 
to  pour  oil  upon  the  troubled  waters. 

In  his  sermon  on  his  death,  Dr.  Pohlman  speaks  of  him  as  "the 
faithful,  zealous  and  consistent  herald  of  the  cross,"  and  adds  that 
"  his  character  was  no  ordinary  exemplification  of  the  faith  and 
the  hope  of  the  gospel,"  that  "his  whole  life  and  teachings  were 
in  perfect  harmony  with  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ ;"  that  "  piety 
and  prudence,  patience  and  perseverance  were  associated  in  lovely 
combination,  and,  as  heavenly  graces,  presided  over  his  spirit, 
formed  the  habitual  temper  of  his  mind,  and  made  him  what  he 
was — a  perfect  gentleman  and  the  exemplary  Christian  divine." 
He  was  certainly  a  beautiful  example  of  unceasing  and  honest 
labor,  of  Christian  serenity,  dignity  and  self-respect,  uniting  kind, 
affable  and  attractive  manners  with  a  happy,  cheerful  disposition, 
and  a  cultivated  intellect,  which  rendered  his  society  acceptable 
to  the  most  intelligent  and  refined  circles.  Although  his  modest 
and  unassuming  character  was  impressed  upon  everything  he  said 
or  did,  in  public  and  private,  yet  his  influence  in  the  Church  was 
very  great,  particularly  in  the  ecclesiastical  body  with  which  he 
was  connected.  He  was  beloved,  honored  and  trusted.  Capacity 
and  integrity  gave  him  authority  and  won  for  him  the  highest 
confidence.  For  twelve  years  he  presided  over  the  New  York 
3finisierium.  He  was  also  an  original  trustee  of  Hartwick  Semi- 
nary, and  in  this  capacity  served  for  thirty  years. 


THE    REV.    DR.    ERNST    L.    HAZELIUS 

wa,s  one  of  the  mcst  popular  men  of  the  church — -I  mean,  that 
everybody  was  his  friend.  His  blameless  life,  transparent  candor, 
and  sincerity  of  heart,  endeared  him  to  all  who  knew  him.  His 
perfect  honesty  and  simplicity  of  character  closed  our  eyes  to  his 
imperfections  of  temperament,  and  we  saw  nothing  but  the  linea- 
ments of  the  kind  and  loving  old  gentleman. 

He  was  well  known  in  the  church  for  many  years  as  Professor 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  67 

in  Hartwick  Seminary;  then  Professor  in  the  Seminary  at  Gettys- 
burg, and  subsequently  in  the  theological  school  of  the  South  at 
Lexington,  where  he  dii^d  in  1853,  aged  76. 

The  following  letters  from  those  who  knew  him  well,  portray 
his  character  well  in  Sprague's  Annals: 


EXTUACTS  FKOM  THE  UEV.  HF.NRY  .1.  SCHMIDT,  V.T>.,  PlJOKKrJSOK   IN 
COLUMBIA  COLLEGE. 

New  Youk,  Mari^h  :37tli,  ISiil. 

My  Dear  Sir  :  You  have  asked  whether  I  could  give  you  any 
reminiscences  of  the  late  Dr.  Hazelius — any  incidents  of  his  life 
not  yet  made  public.  He  and  my  father  were  school-mates  in 
Germany,  at  the  Pedagogium  in  Barby,  and  appear,  at  that  time, 
already  to  have  been  much  attached  to  each  other.  When  the 
Doctor  left  the  Pedagogium  for  the  Theological  Seminary,  my 
father  went  to  the  University  as  a  student  of  Medicine.  Some 
time  after  this — I  do  not  remember  how  long* — the  Doctor  came 
to  this  country,  to  become  Professor  of  Theology  in  the  Moravian 
Seminary  at  Nazareth.  Here  he  led  rather  a  lonely  life  for  a  few 
years,  until  my  father  arrived  at  the  same  place,  when  the  two 
friends  were  reunited,  and  for  some  time  occupied  rooms  in  the 
same  building. 

I  have  wonderfully  distinct  recollections  of  my  earliest  child- 
hood, and  one  or  two  of  them  are  connected  with  the  subject  of 
this  gossiping  letter.  He  was  my  godfather,  and  held  me  at  the 
font,  and  thus  sustained  to  me  a  relation  which,  in  those  good  old- 
fashioned  times,  was  esteemed  second  only  to  that  of  a  parent. 
The  fidelity  with  which  he  discharged  the  duties  thus  assumed, 
the  many  acts  of  kindness  which  I  received  at  his  hands,  esj^eci- 
cially  at  the  time  when  I  entered  the  ministry,  and  when  his 
paternal  counsels  and  guidance  were  invaluable,  will  never  fade 
from  my  memory.  My  father  had  then  been  for  years  reposing 
under  the  sod.  As  I  said,  my  recollection  of  him  goes  back 
to  my  earliest  childhood  ;  but  the  incidents  which  are  so  dis- 
tinctly retained  by  memory,  were  of  too  trifling  a  nature  to 
be  recounted  in  a  letter.  I  may,  however,  mention  one  incident 
which  my  father  used  to  relate  with  great  glee.  Small  parties 
used,  in  those  days,  to  spend  a  day,  occasionally,  in  a  pleasure 
excursion  from  Nazareth  to  the  Blue  Mountains,  where  an  old 

•A.  D.  1800.-J.  G.  M. 


68  FIFTY   YEAKS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Eevolutionary  soldier,  named  Burroughs,  had  a  cottage,  not  far 
from  the  Gap.  These  parties  carried  their  provision  with  them, 
which  they  enjoyed  in  the  old  pensioner's  cottage,  where  the  re- 
mains of  the  meal  were  quite  an  acceptable  donation.  On  one 
such  occasion,  my  parents,  Dr.  Hazelius  and  another  friend  named 
Felgentretf,  made  up  the  party,  the  last  named  j^erson  having 
contributed,  among  other  delicacies,  a  roasted  goose  to  the  enter- 
tainment. When  he  undertook  to  carve  this  piece  de  resistance,  it 
slipped  away  from  under  his  knife,  and  fell  under  the  table.  He 
seems  not  to  have  had  the  presence  of  mind  displayed  by  another 
noted  character  in  a  similar  position — at  any  rate  he  failed  to 
quickly  clap  his  foot  on  the  lapsed  goose.  This  was  a  chance  not 
to  be  neglected  by  a  half-famishing  dog,  that  had  been  greedily 
looking  out  for  scraps — he  seized  the  Oaj^itoline  fowl,  and  rushed 
out  of  the  door.  The  cottage  was  near  the  road  where  the  de- 
clivity of  the  mountain  was  steep.  Out  flew  poor  Felgentreff 
after  the  canine  robber,  calling  loudly  upon  him  to  relinquish  his 
ill-gotten  prey.  Vain  was  the  summons.  Felgentreff  gave  chase, 
but  the  more  he  ran  and  shouted,  the  more  furious  became  the 
speed  of  the  dog,  that  knew  the  topography  of  the  mountain  bet- 
ter than  his  pursuer,  and  was  soon  beyond  the  reach  of  the  ven- 
geance which  so  laboriously  strove  to  overtake  him.  Of  course 
the  company  assembled  in  the  cottage  enjoyed  the  scene  im- 
mensely ;  and  it  was  long  ere  Felgentreft'  heard  the  last  of  his 
bootless  chase  after  the  stolen  goose,  from  which  he  returned  quite 
out  of  breath ;  for,  unable  soon  to  check  the  rapidly  accelerated 
speed  of  his  career  down  the  mountain,  he  did  not  fail  to  learn 
that,  while  the  facills  descensus  is  not  over  disagreeable,  the  re- 
vocare  gradum  is,  especially  when  7ninus  a  goose,  a  tedious  ojjus, 
and  a  hard  labor.  Regretting  that  I  have  nothing  of  more  im- 
portance to  communicate,         I  remain,  most  truly,  yours, 

H   J.  Schmidt. 

FROM  THE  REV.  GKOIiGE  B.  MILtiER,  D.  D.,  PROFESSOR  IN  THE 
HARTWICK  SE.MINARY. 

Hartwick  Seminary,  September  2S,  1854. 

Dear  Sir  :  I  had  the  happiness  of  a  long  and  intimate  acquain- 
tance with  Dr.  Hazelius,  and  was  called  upon  to  preach  un  the 
occasion  of  his  death.  I  shall  barely  hint  at  a  few  of  the  more 
prominent  traits  of  his  character. 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  69 

In  his  private  character  Dr.  Hazeliiis  was  devout,  humble,  sim- 
ple-minded, upright, — faithful  in  the  discharge  of  his  onerous 
duties  even  to  scrupulousness.  In  his  family  he  was  kind,  affec- 
tionate and  loving.  In  promiscuous  company  he  made  himself 
very  agreeable,  being  at  once  very  sociable  and  fond  of  conversing 
upon  useful  subjects.  He  had  a  peculiar  affection  for  children, 
though  never  blessed  with  any  of  his  own.  If  he  had  some  preju- 
dices, and  was  at  times  somewhat  hasty,  this,  with  all  who  enjoyed 
the  happiness  of  his  acquaintance,  served  as  a  mere  foil  to  his 
noble  qualities  of  heart  and  mind.  As  a  Public  Teacher,  whether 
in  the  Pulpit  or  the  Theological  Chair,  or  the  Classical  School,  his 
gifts  were  rather  solid  than  showy.  He  was  well  acquainted  with 
Latin,  Greek  and  Hebrew,  as  well  as  with  a  number  of  Modern 
Languages,  and  was  uncommonly  familiar  with  History,  both  Gen- 
eral and  Ecclesiastical.  He  was  a  learned  Theologian,  and  a  good 
interpreter  of  Scripture.  A  respectable  Preacher,  his  sermons 
were  sensible,  well  digested,  evangelical  and  practical. 

That  he  was  an  excellent  instructor  is  abundantly  testified  to  by 
many  of  his  pupils,  still  living, — some  of  them  occupying  impor- 
tant stations  in  theniinistry,  and  others  in  civil  and  political  life. 
He  always  took  the  warmest  interest  in  the  welfare  of  his  former 
pupils,  doing  every  thing  he  could  to  benefit  them  ;  while  many 
of  them,  in  turn,  cherish  his  memory  with  an  affection  truly  filial. 

It  would  be  unjust  to  his  memory  not  to  allude,  in  this  connec- 
tion, to  some  of  his  extra-official  labors.  He  prepared  several 
books,  partly  translations  from  the  German,  partly  original,  some 
of  which  have  been  published,  while  others  are  yet  lying  in 
manuscript.  His  mind,  never  at  rest,  was  always  devising  or 
prosecuting  some  useful  enterprise.  As  another  probf  of  his  ac- 
tive turn,  I  would  mention  that,  while  he  was  at  Hartwick,  he 
frequently  employed  his  summer  and  fall  vacations  in  visiting 
destitute  congregations  in  various  parts  of  the  State,  acting  as  a 
sort  of  volunteer  Home  Missionary,  at  his  own  cost;  and  I  have 
no  doubt  that  some  of  our  congregations  were  actually  preserved 
from  extinction  by  his  faithful  labors.  By  this  means,  too,  he 
knew  the  condition  of  our  churches  and  could  direct  young  men, 
when  they  were  licensed,  to  the  places  where  their  services  were 
most  needed,  and  to  which  they  were  best  adapted. 

He  also  carried  on  an  extensive  correspondence  till  the  decay  of 
his  strength  rendered  the  exertion  too  laborious. 
5 


70  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

If  now  it  is  asked  what  has  been  the  fruit  of  his  more  than  fifty 
years'  active  and  laborious  exertion,  especially  of  the  last  thirty- 
seven,  in  which  he  was  engaged  in  preparing  young  men  for  the 
ministry,  the  answer  is,  his  faithful  services  have  introduced  into 
the  ministry  a  large  number  of  active  and  useful  young  men,  and 
thus  conduced  to  the  increase  and  extension  of  the  Church.  And 
whereas,  during  the  period  of  his  labors,  as  Theological  Professor, 
our  Church,  by  the  blessing  of  the  Most-High,  has  increased  ten- 
fold, he  has  been  honored  by  our  Heavenly  Master,  to  contribute 
a  very  material  share  to  this  increase  ;  and  I  presume  there  are 
few  in  our  connection,  whose  praise  is  in  all  the  churches,  especi- 
ally in  the  Northern  and  Southern  extremities  of  our  land,  as  is 
that  of  Dr.  Hazelius.     I  am,  dear  sir, 

Yours  in  the  bonds  of  the  Gospel, 

George  B.  Milleu. 

FROM  TOE  REV.   HENRY  N.   POIILMAN,   D.  D. 

Albany,  January  8, 1862. 

My  Dear  Sir  :  When  I  went  to  Hartwick,  as  a  theological  stu- 
dent, in  1816,  I  not  only  became  acquainted  with  Dr.  Hazelius, 
but  came  under  his  immediate  care  and  in.struction.  The  rela- 
tions thus  born  gave  place,  in  due  time,  to  other  relations  of  a  more 
general  character  ;  and  there  existed  between  us,  to  the  close  of 
his  life,  an  intimate,  not  to  say  confidential,  friendship.  My  mem- 
ory is  full  of  incidents,  some  of  them  touching  enough,  and  some 
of  them  laughable  enough,  that  might  aptly  illustrate  his  different 
characteristics. 

The  personal  appearance  of  Dr.  Hazelius  was  striking,  and' 
would  make  him  pretty  likely  to  be  noticed  in  a  crowd.  He  was 
of  about  the  middle  size,  and,  whether  his  body  was  at  rest  or  in 
motion,  there  was  always  an  inclination  of  the  head  so  considera- 
ble as  to  suggest  the  idea  of  a  natural  deformity.  He  had  a  fine, 
round,  intellectual  face,  that  gave  you  the  assurance,  before  he 
opened  his  lips,  that  he  was  much  more  than  an  ordinary  man.  His 
movements  were  rapid  ;  but  there  was  a  slight  degree  of  awkward- 
ness about  them,  growing  out  of  the  fact  that  he  was  extremely 
near  sighted.  I  remember,  on  one  occasion,  as  I  was  riding  to 
Cooperstown  with  him,  in  the  winter,  he  suddenly  took  off  his  hat 
and  made  a  very  graceful  bow.     "  Whom  are  you  bowing  to,  Doc- 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  71 

tor?"  said  I.  "To  that  gentleman,"  said  he,  "that  we  just 
passed."  "That  gentleman,"  said  I,  "was  a  stump."  Of  course 
he  enjoyed  the  joke  as  much  as  I  did.  His  manners  were  those 
of  a  well-bred  gentleman  of  the  old  school.  He  had  great  kind- 
line.ss  of  .spirit,  but  along  with  it,  as  often  happens,  a  full 
share  of  irascibility.  Of  this  latter  quality,  one  or  two  striking 
instances  now  occur  to  me.  I  was,  at  one  time,  an  assistant  to  the 
Doctor  in  his  school ;  and,  as  my  boarding  place  was  .some  two 
miles  distant,  I  used  to  take  my  dinner  along  with  me  and  eat 
in  my  room.  He  was  just  returning  from  his  dinner,  when  some 
of  the  boys  were  amusing  themselves  by  rolling  a  cannon  ball 
through  the  lower  hall  of  the  building,  and  it  actually  came  near 
hitting  the  Doctor  as  he  was  entering  the  door.  As  I  had,  at  that 
moment,  opened  my  own  door  to  find  out  what  was  going  forward, 
my  face  was  the  first  that  presented  itself  to  Dr.  H.,  and  his  first 
thought  was  that  I  was  the  offender,  and  he  instantly  drew  him- 
self back,  and  lifted  his  cane  as  if  to  level  a  terrible  blow  at  me. 
I  exclaimed, — "  Why,  Dr.  Hazelius!  "  And  by  that  time  he  di-s- 
covered  his  mistiike.  One  of  his  boys  from  Albany,  rather  an 
unlucky  fellow,  addressed  him  in  the  school  in  a  somewhat  impu- 
dent manner,  and  the  indignant  preceptor,  by  a  tremendous  blow, 
knocked  him  down.  The  boy  made  a  great  ado,  and  affected  a 
much  more  serious  injury  than  he  had  really  experienced,  so  that 
the  Doctor  was  prodigiously  frightened.  He  came  rushing  into 
my  room  in  great  consternation,  and  said,  "  I  believe  I  have  killed 
Russell."  I  immediately  went  into  his  room,  and  there,  sure 
enough,  was  Russell  lying  on  the  floor,  apparently  writ-hing  in 
agony,  and  evidently  willing  to  have  it  believed  that  it  was  the 
agony  of  death.  I  was  satisfied,  in  a  moment,  that  it  was  all 
affectation,  and  that  the  fellow  had  really  received  no  serious  in- 
jury. It  was  agreed  that  I  should  take  him  to  his  boarding 
house,  where  he  might  have  the  requi>^ite  attention  paid  to  liim. 
The  Doctor  was  so  deeply  exercised  about  him  that  he  could  not 
feel  contented  to  stay  away  from  him;  and,  accordingly,  he  had 
the  bell  .rung  for  evening  prayers  at  three  o  clock  in  the  after- 
noon, and  then  hastened  away  to  ascertain  the  condition  of  his 
victim;  when,  behold,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  telling  him  that  he 
had  gone  off  skating ! 

Not  only  was  his  knowledge  of  the  classics  most  thorough,  but 
he  had  great  facility  of  imparting  it  to  his  pupils.     His  preaching 


72  FIFTY    YEAES    IN    THE    LUTHEEAN    MINISTEY. 

was  eminently  instructive,  and  the  most  cultivated  hearer  would 
never  find  in  it  any  lack  of  material  for  his  mind  to  work  upon. 
His  voice  was  mellow  and  pleasant,  and  sufficiently  flexible,  with- 
out being  very  loud.  His  gesture,  though  not  abundant,  was 
simple  and  natural.  Instead  of  looking  his  audience  in  the  face, 
his  eyes  seemed  to  be  watching  the  flies  upon  the  ceiling ;  and 
this,  of  course,  detracted  somewhat  from  the  force  of  his  manner. 
He  wrote  and  spoke  the  English  language  not  only  fluently,  but 
with  great  correctness ;  insomuch  that  it  would,  hardly  have  oc- 
curred to  you  that  it  was  not  his  mother  tongue.  Indeed,  it  became 
much  easier  for  him  to  preach  in  English  than  in  German.  I  re- 
member once  accompanying  him  some  twenty  miles  below  Hart- 
wick,  where  he  went  to  preach  a  Funeral  Sermon  for  some  old 
German,  and  though  he  began  in  the  German  language,  he  found 
it  so  diflicult  to  proceed  in  it,  that  long  before  the  sermon  was  fin- 
ished he  was  making  free  use  of  the  English. 

Dr.  Hazelius  never  seemed  to  take  much  interest  in  Deliberative 
Bodies,  and,  I  think,  that  neither  his  taste  or  talents  pointed  very 
decidedly  in  that  direction.  He  was,  however,  once  President  of 
the  General  Synod.         I  remain,  as  ever,  yours  sincerely, 

Henry  N.  Pohlman. 

from  the  rev.  john  g.  morris,  d.  j). 

Baltiaiore,  November  1, 18153. 

Dear  De.  Speague:  The  first  time  I  ever  met  Dr.  Hazelius 
Avas  in  this  city,  in  1830,  when  he  was  on  his  way  to  Gettysburg, 
where  he  had  been  called  as  Professor  of  Theology.  He  was 
staying  at  the  house  of  a  venerable  minister  of  our  Church ;  and, 
instead  of  sending  his  card  to  announce  his  presence,  as  some  fas- 
tidious gentlemen  do,  he  called  at  once,  and,  with  a  sort  of  semi- 
apologetic  mien,  observed, — "  I  owe  you  this  visit  and  pay  it  out 
of  gratitude."  I  replied  that  I  was  not  conscious  of  having  put 
him  under  any  obligation  to  me.  "  Not  you,"  he  continued,  "  but 
your  parents.  In  1800  I  landed  in  this  city  from  Bremen,  a 
stranger ;  and,  on  my  way  to  Bethlehem,  I  passed  through  York, 
where  your  father  kindly  entertained  me  for  some  days,  and  I 
shall  ever  remember  his  generous  hospitality."  Very  frequently, 
in  our  subsequent  intimate  intercourse,  did  he  allude  to  that 
event,  and  always  with  evident  pleasure.  This  may  be  one  of 
the  reasons  of  our  confidential  relations  as  long  as  he  lived. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    I.UTIIErxAN    MINISTRY.  73 

He  remained  in  Baltimore  over  tlie  following  Sunday,  and  I  of 
course  invited  him  to  preach.  On  our  way  to  church  he  inquired 
whether  I  read  my  sermons,  and  to  my  negative  answer  he  made 
no  reply.  I  did  not  then  know  his  mode  of  preaching  or  I  should 
have  modified  my  answer.  He  did  not  read.  I  wish  he  had,  for 
without  his  manuscript  the  good  Doctor  was  not  a  good  preacher. 
He  wa.s  not  fluent  in  extem})oraneous  .speech  nor  systematic  in  ar- 
rangement. He  was  too  old  to  commit  his  sermons  to  memory, 
and  had  habituated  himself  entirely  to  his  notes.  With  his  pen 
he  was  strong  and  clear,  with  his  tongue  weak  and  confused.  As 
I  gently  ehided  him  afterwards  for  abandoning  his  habitual  track, 
he  remarked  that  he  always  tried  to  conform  to  the  custom  of  the 
pulpit  in  which  he  preached,  even  at  the  risk  of  blundering.  A 
few  years  afterwards  a  similar  event  occurred.  He  and  I  had 
been  invited  io  speak  at  the  meeting  of  the  Frederick  County 
Bible  Society,  which  was  to  be  held  during  the  meeting  of  our 
Synod,  at  that  place.  It  happened  to  be  on  the  31st  of  October, 
the  anniversary  of  the  Reformation,  which  affords  a  glorious  theme 
for  a  Bible  Society  speech.  The  Doctor  had  elaborated  a  regular 
discourse  on  that  subject,  expecting  to  read  it  from  the  pulpit, 
but  we  were  not  in  the  pulpit,  and  he  w^as  too  far  removed  from 
the  light  to  see  distinctly  (for  he  was  very  near-sighted),  and 
what  could  he  do?  He  could  not  recite  his  written  speech,  and 
he  was  not  ready  for  an  off-hand  effort.     It  was  a  failure. 

During  his  several  years  residence  in  Gett3-sburg,  though  thirty 
years  his  junior,  I  was  his  confidential  friend.  He  undertook  no 
important  work  without  consulting  me,  and  minutely  related  to 
me  all  his  grievances  and  sorrows.  I  could  evi  n  have  taken  lib<^r- 
ties  with  him  w^hich  it  was  not  safe  for  others  to  do.  For  instance, 
whilst  examining  his  students  in  the  presence  of  the  Board  he 
would  forget  that  he  was  examining  and  go  on  lecturing,  and 
thus  exhaust  the  time  allotted  before  half  of  the  young  men  had 
been  questioned.  I  would  gently  remind  him  of  the  nature  of 
the  exercise,  when  he  would  spasmodically  exclaim,  "  Yes,  yes, 

you  are  right,"  and  then  proceed,  "  Well,  Mr.  S  ,  tell  us  w^hat 

you  know  about  the  Manicheans — their  rise,  doctrines,  influence, 
etc."  The  young  fellow  would  begin,  and  probably  soon  come  to 
the  end  of  his  line,  when  off  would  go  the  Professor  in  a  regular 
lecture  on  the  Manicheans,  when  he  was  kindly  reminded  again 
that  the  impatient  Board  had  come  to  hear  what  the  students  and 


74  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

not  what  the  Professor  knew.  The  old  gentleman  would,  with  a 
smile,  beg  p'^rdon,  and  in  less  than  ten  minutes  W'Oiild  be  off  again 
in  another  long  exj^lanation.  He  was  surprised,  and  I  presume  a 
little  mortified,  to  hear  the  announcement  from  the  President  of 
the  Board,  "  Your  hour  is  out — let  another  subject  be  introduced." 

I  have  met  with  but  very  few  professors  who  understood  the 
art  of  examining.  They  always  seem  to  think  they  must  explain 
every  blunder  a  jDupil  makes  and  correct  every  error  he  commits. 
This  belongs  to  the  lecture  room  and  not  to  the  examination. 

I  should  suppose  that  no  professor  was  ever  more  loved  b}-  hi.? 
pupils  than  was  Dr.  Hazelius.  Having  no  children  of  his  own, 
he  seemed  to  cherish  a  paternal  feeling  towards  all  under  his 
care,  and  I  believe  it  may  be  asserted  with  truth  that  not  one  of 
them  was  ever  heard  to  utter  a  disrespectful  word  of  him.  They 
reverenced  him  for  the  purity  of  his  character,  the  artlessness  of 
his  conduct,  and  loved  him  for  the  deep  interest  he  always  showed 
in  their  affairs. 

He  was  painfully  afflicted  at  any  of  their  derelictions,  and  so 
perfectly  innocent  himself  that  the  slighest  departure  from  the 
strictest  propriety  would  affect  him  to  the  very  soul.  The  night 
previous  to  a  College  Examination,  some  mischievous  students  had 
raised  a  pole  with  a  flag  bearing  this  inscrijDtion, — "  Menagerie  of 
living  animals  to  be  exhibited  to-day."  Now  this,  to  most  of  them, 
was  a  good  joke,  though  lacking  wit  and  ingenuity  ;  but  to  the 
tender-hearted  and  delicately  nerved  Hazelius  it  was  a  heinous 
offence,  and  whilst  the  rest  of  them  laughed,  he  sat  down  and  abso- 
lutely wept. 

I  was  long  aware  that  his  position  in  CTettysburg  was  not  pleas- 
ant, and  we  often  spoke  of  a  change  as  desirable  to  him.  A  letter 
Avas  received  by  me,  from  a  leading  man  in  the  Synod  of  South 
Carolina,  inquiring  into  the  qualifications  of  a  minister  for  the 
post  of  Professor  in  their  Seminary.  Instead  of  answering  as  re- 
quested, I  proposed  the  name  of  Dr.  Hazelius,  which  was  received 
with  the  most  gratifying  surprise,  never  dreaming  that  reputedly 
one  of  the  best  scholar^  and  best  men  of  the  Church  Avould  leave 
her  chief  Seminary,  to  go  down  to  the  backwoods  of  South  Caro- 
lina ;  but  he  did  go,  and  was  glad  to  go. 

Before  he  left  Gettysburg  the  students  raised  a  sut)Scription  for 
his  portrait,  and  he  came  to  Baltimore  to  sit  for  it.  He  would  in- 
sist on  my  accompanying  him  every  day  to  the  artist,  to  keep  him 


riFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LrXHErvAN    MINISTRY.  75 

awake  and  cheerful.  I  put  forth  all  my  powers  to  enliven  him, 
for  the  artist  was  a  dull  fellow,  and  had  nothing  to  say,  but  all 
was  in  vain.  After  half  an  hour's  constant  sitting,  the  old  gen- 
tleman would  nod  :  I  would  rouse  him  by  some  piquant  story  or  in- 
teresting question  in  Church  History  :  occasionally  I  would  get  up 
some  difficulty  in  Hebrew  Grammar  or  Exegesis,  which  would 
rouse  him  for  a  moment,  but  he  would  soon  colhqise.  Then  I 
would  eulogize  some  man  whom  I  knew  he  did  not  like,  or  pre- 
tend to  be  a  Democrat;  and,  when  all  else  failed.  I  brought  up 
the  Manicheans  ;  but,  before  the  hour  was  out,  he  was  again 
asleep.  A  man-asleep  is  not  the  man  to  be  painted,  and  we  would 
adjourn  for  that  day,  with  leave  to  sit  again.  The  picture  was 
finished  after  much  trouble,  and  is  now  suspended  in  the  Seminary 
Chapel,  but  it  is  a  very  imperfect  counterfeit  o_f  the  noble  origi- 
nal. The  best  likeness  of  him  is  that  in  mezzotint  by  Sartain  ; 
but  that  rej)resents  him  without  spectacles.  When  a  man  wears 
spectacles  all  his  life,  and  is  never  seen  without  them,  they  are  a 
part  of  his  likeness,  and  no  true  artist  will  leave  them  off. 

The  literary  labors  of  Dr.  Hazelius  have  never  had  much  repu- 
tation beyond  our  own  Church.  His  publishers  were  not  of  that 
class  who  raaJce  a  book  sell,  and  he  himself  knew  absolutelv  noth- 
ing of  the  ways  of  trade.  Though  his  books  were  carefully  elab- 
orated (he  wrote  several  of  them  three  times  over),  yet  they  have 
never  found  many  readers  beyond  his  own  circle.  His  transla- 
tion of  the  life  of  Stilling  seemed  to  be  his  favorite,  and  yet  it  is 
the  least  meritorious  of  them  all — a  lame  or  sickly  child  is  often 
the  pet  of  the  family.  He  would  read  this  book  in  manuscript 
to  the  members  of  his  household  by  the  hour,  and  was  deeply 
mortified  that  it  created  no  excitement  on  its  subsequent  publi- 
cation. 

When  the  Doctor  moved  to  South  Carolina  he,  like  many  other 
northern  men  who  go  there,  became  a  slaveholder  from  necessity, 
as  he  used  to  say.  As  far  as  I  know  he  had  but  one  slave,  and 
he  a  little  boy.  It  is  said  his  discipline  was  most  paternal,  and 
the  exercise  of  it  gave  hina  greater  pain  than  the  little  culprit 
felt.  He  would  lecture  the  offending  darkey,  reason  with  him  as 
though  he  had  been  a  man,  preach  to  him,  cry  over  him  really, 
whilst  the  .scamp  was  slyly  laughing  at  "  ole  massa"  all  the  time. 
It  was  a  most  amusing  scene  altog  ther.  I  have  heard  frequent 
recitals  of  it,  with  all  the  moving  protestations  of  the  Doctor  and 


76  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

the  cunning,  half  jocose  apologies  of  the  servant.  The  Doctor's 
earnest  sincerity  and  cleejD  emotion  were  in  strong  contrast  with 
the  boy's  giggling  countenance  and  evident  and  ill  concealed  en- 
joyment of  the  fun. 

As' a  Theologian,  Dr.  Hazelius  was  profound;  as  a  Linguist, 
learned;  as  a  Christian,  devout;  as  a  Teacher,  successful;  as  a 
Man,  complete  as  far  as  our  fallen  nature  can  be. 


REV.    JOHN    BACHMAN, 

of  Charleston,  had  been  for  some  years  a  leading  man  in  the 
Southern  Church  before  he  became  personally  known  to  the  same 
class  of  men  in  the  Central  Church.  His  first  apjDearance  among 
them  was  as  a  member  of  the  General  Synod  in  York  in  1835, 
when  he  endeared  himself  to  them  all  by  his  courteous  manners, 
his  high  social  qualities,  his  varied  learning  and  his  chui'chly  ac- 
tivity. He  was  gay  without  frivolity,  learned  without  jDedantry, 
and  pious  without  asceticism.  He  had  already  at  that  time  ac- 
quired great  reputation  as  a  naturalist,  but  he  never  alluded  to 
science  without  being  asked  a  question. 

On  this  occasion,  at  York,  a  number  of  us  accompanied  him  on 
a  botanical  excursion  up  the  Codorus  Creek,  when  we  were  com- 
pelled not  only  to  admire  his  familiarity  with  the  Flora  of  the 
region,  and  his  facility  in  discovering  the  names  of  the  few  plants 
unknown  to  him,  but  also  to  admire,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to 
deplore  his  extreme  agility,  for  he  outwalked  some  much  younger 
men  than  himself,  and  left  the  older  lagging  far  behind. 

He  attended  one  or  two  meetings  of  the  General  Synod  subse- 
quently, and  at  one  of  them  was  elected  President. 

The  same  body  convened  in  his  church  in  1850.  It  was  the 
first  time  we  had  ever  met  South,  and  it  was  a  happy  meeting. 

Among  many  other  acts  of  kindness  shown.  Dr.  Bachman  pre- 
sented every  clerical  member  of  the  Synod  with  a  copy  of  his  cel- 
ebrated book  "  On  the  Unity  of  the  Human  Race." 

It  was  on  this  occasion  that  I  became  the  possessor  of  a  treasure 
which  I  prized  very  highly,  and  which  is  now  before  me  on  a  row 
of  shelves  in  my  study.     The  Doctor  had  a  large  collection  of 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  77 

dried  plants,  kept  as  Herbariums  usually  are,  in  folio  volumes. 
I  think  he  told  me  it  once  belonged  to  Elliott,  the  botanist,  and 
the  author  of  a  book  on  Southern  botany.  Without  any  further 
words  as  to  how  and  why,  the  collection   became  mine,  by  gift. 

Mrs.  B was  glad  to  get  rid  of  the  pile,  for  she  wanted' the 

room  for  other  purposes,  and  I  was  so  glad  to  disencumber  the 
house  of  the  annoyance  that  I  immediately  engaged  a  man  to 
pack  them  in  two  immense  boxes  and  to  cart  them  to  a  ship  bound 
for  Baltimore.  I  made  two  or  three  good  collections  out  of  it, 
and  supplied  several  friends  in  Europe  with  specimens  of  South- 
ern plants.  Many  of  them  have  Elliott's  and  Bachman's  original 
labels.  The  Doctor  sometimes  made  observations  on  them,  of 
which  I  will  quote  only  one  example.  On  the  label  of  a  poison- 
ous plant,  he  writes.-  "  In  the  eummer  of  1831  this  plant  poisoned 
me  and  laid  me  up  for  several  weeks,  and  nearly  put  a  stop  to 
my  botanizing  for  the  rest  of  my  life." 

( From  the  Clisiiieston  News  and  Courier.) 

THE  STOKY  OF  HIS  LIFE  AND  LAItOIiS. 

The  venerable  John  Bachman  died  at  his  residence  in  this  city 
yesterday,  in  the  eighty-fifth  year  of  his  age. 

HIS  LIFE  AND   PASrOHATE. 

He  was  descended  from  an  old  German  family,  although  his 
first  American  ancestor  came  from  Switzerland  to  this  country  as 
the  private  secretary  of  William  Penn.  During  his  childhood  he 
knew  nothing  of  the  German  language,  but  in  after  life  he  spoke 
and  wrote  German  with  great  fluency.  Dr.  Bachman  first  ac- 
quired his  knowledge  of  German  at  college,  and  afterward  made 
himself  master  of  that  and  other  modern  languages  during  his 
visit  to  Europe.  His  father,  like  other  farmers  around  him  in 
those  days,  was  a  slaveholder,  and  to  the  last  years  of  his  long 
life  Dr.  Bachman  took  occasion,  from  time  to  time,  as  opportunity 
offered,  to  make  inquiry  concerning  the  fate  of  the  negroes  who 
were  the  companions  of  his  tender  years.  He  has  often  been 
heard  to  speak  of  those  former  bondmen,  and  lament  the  fate  that 
had  befallen  them. 

Dr.  Bachman  received  a  liberal  education,  and  at  the  early  age 
of  twenty-three  was   licensed    by  the  Lutheran    Synod  of   New 


/«  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

York,  having  been  previously  elected  pastor  of  three  congrega- 
tions in  the  vicinity  of  his  own  neighborhood  in  Rensselaer  county, 
New  York,  where  it  was  then  his  expectation  to  spend  the  re- 
mainder of  his  days  among  the  friends  and  relatives  of  his  boy- 
hoo'd  and  early  youth:  A  hemorrhage  of  the  lungs,  however,  with 
which  he  had  been  attacked  while  in  college,  was  making  a  fear- 
ful inroad  in  his  health,  and  he  was  advised  by  his  physicians  to 
seek  relief  in  a  more  southern  climate.  About  this  time  a  call 
was  sent  from  the  Lutheran  church  in  this  city  to  the  president 
of  the  Synod  of  New  York,  Dr.  Quitman,  with  a  request  that  he 
should  recommend  some  clergyman  who  might  be  adapted  to  this 
field  of  labor.  Dr.  Quitman  and  Dr.  Mayer,  of  Philadelphia, 
therefore  23i'oposed  Mr.  Bachman's  name  to  the  congregation  in 
Charleston.  A  call  was  immediately  sent,  inviting  him  to  become 
their  pistor.  After  consultation  with  his  family  and  congrega- 
tion, he  obtained  a  leave  of  absence  for  nine  months,  the  hope 
being  expressed  that  during  that  time  his  health  would  become 
sufficiently  restored  to  enable  him  to  return  and  resume  his  min- 
isterial labors  at  the  north.  The  Lutheran  church  had  then 
scarcely  an  existence  in  the  Southern  States,  and  as  there  was  no 
Lutheran  Synod  here,  an  extra  meeting  of  the  Synod  of  New 
York  was  convened  in  December,  1814,  at  Rhinebeck,  for  the  pur- 
2:)0se  of  ordaining  him.  The  ordination  services  were  performed 
by  Dr.  Quitman  and  the  other  officers  of  the  Synod  in  the  Luth- 
eran church  at  Rhinebeck,  and,  without  returning  home,  the 
young  clergyman  proceeded  on  his  way  to  this  city,  where  he  ar- 
rived on  the  tenth  of  January,  1815.  A  meeting  of  the  vestry  of 
the  church  took  place  on  the  twelfth,  two  days  afterward,  and 
the  chai'ge  of  the  congregation  was  in  due  form  committed  to  his 
trust.  On  January  10th,  the  day  of  his  arrival,  he  attended  the 
first  funeral,  and  on  the  sixteenth  performed  the  first  baptismal 
service  of  his  ministry  in  Charleston. 

The  state  of  the  country  at  the  time  of  Dr.  Bachman's  advent 
in  Charleston  was  graphically  described  by  him  in  a  sermon  on 
the  forty-third  anniversaiy  of  his  arrival  here,  as  follows: 

"  We  were  in  the  midst  of  a  three  years'  war  with  the  most 
powerful  of  foreign  nations.  Fearful  battles  had  occurred  on  our 
northern  frontiers,  on  the  ocean  and  on  the  lakes.  The  traces  of 
devastation  and  death  were  visible  in  the  half-covered  graves 
along  the   highway   between  Baltimore   and   Washington.     The 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  79 

blackened  walls  of  the  capitol  at  Washington,  and  the  waste  and 
destruction  in  every  part  of  the  city,  presented  an  awful  picture 
of  the  horrors  of  war.  On  my  arrival  here  I  found  our  citizens 
working  on  the  lines  of  defense  thrown  around  the  land  side  of 
our  city — even  ladies  went  there  with  hoes  and  spades  to  cheer 
the  citizen  soldiers  Ijy  their  presence,  their  countenance  and  ex- 
amjile,  and  I,  too,  joined,  at  least  in  form  ;  for  it  was  our  common 
country  that  was  to  be  defended.  In  the  meantime  the  battle  of 
New  Orleans  had  been  fought  on  the  8th  of  January,  and  a  treaty 
of  peace  had  been  signed  at  Ghent ;  but  these  important  events 
were  not  known  until  some  time  afterward.  The  war  had  fallen 
heavily  on  our  southern  peo[>le.  The  principal  staple  of  our 
commerce — cotton — had  for  several  years  during  the  embargo  and 
war  been  sold  at  a  mere  nominal  value,  and  was  stored  away  in 
various  depositories  in  King  street.  Our  city  was  then  only  a 
village  compared  with  its  present  growth,  and  the  grass  was 
growing  in  our  most  public  streets.  Men  had  the  necessaries  of 
life,  and  these  were  cheap  ;  but  all  the  means  of  enterprise,  and 
all  the  avenues  to  wealth  were  closed  up.  Fortunately,  men  were 
driven  to  the  necessity  of  manufacturing  their  necessary  articles, 
and  they  were  compelled  to  deny  themselves  luxuries ;  they 
studied  economy,  and  hence  there  was  not  much  suffering  among  our 
people  from  any  want  of  the  necessaries  of  life.  But  the  constant 
dread  of  invasion,  the  sufferings  and  dangers  to  which  our  friends, 
who  were  in  the  army  and  at  sea,  were  constantly  exposed,  kept 
the  mind.s  of  our  citizens  in  an  unsettled  and  feverish  state.  The 
means  of  traveling  were  very  different  from  what  they  are  now, 
in  the  days  of  steamers  and  railroads.  The  roads  were  almost 
impassable ;  as  an  evidence  of  this  I  would  state  that  with  the 
exception  of  a  Sabbath  on  which  I  preached  for  Dr.  Mayer,  of 
Philadelphia,  I  came  in  the  regular  stage  line,  which  traveled  day 
and  night,  and  arrived  in  Charleston  on  the  morning  of  the 
twenty-ninth  day  after  leaving  Dutchess  county,  which  is  one 
hundred  miles  north  of  the  city  of  New  York.  In  the  meantime 
our  vehicles  were  either  broken  or  overturned  eight  times  on  the 
journey." 

The  congregation  then  worshiped  in  a  small  wooden  building 
situated  in  the  rear  of  the  site  of  the  present  church.  It  was  an 
antiquated  buibling  of  peculiar  construction,  resembling  some  of 
the  old  churches  in  the  rural  districts  of  Germany,  and  had  been 
erected  previous  to  the  Revolutionary   war.     The    congregation 


80  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

was  composed  of  Germans,  "who,  during  the  stormy  season  of  the 
Revolution,  had  been  the  strenuous  advocates  and  defenders  of 
the  rights  of  their  adopted  country.  Its  pastors,  from  1771  to 
1815,  when  Dr.  Bachman  was  called  to  the  charge  of  the  congre- 
gation, were  Rev.  F.  Daser,  Rev.  Mr.  Martin  (who  was  driven 
from  the  church  by  the  British  officials  in  consequence  of  his  re- 
fusal to  pray  for  the  king).  Rev.  John  C.  Faber,  Rev.  Charles  Fa- 
ber  and  Rev.  Mr.  Streit.  Dr.  Bachman  entered  upon  the  pastoral 
duties  of  his  new  charge  amid  gloomy  and  discouraging  surround- 
ings in  the  temporal  condition  of  the  congregation,  but  brought 
to  the  work  a  fervent  spirit  of  Christian  zeal  and  ihe  robust  en- 
ergy of  mental  character,  which  always  characterized  him ;  and 
he  had  the  pleasure,  during  his  long  pastorate,  of  seeing  his 
church  rapidly  built  up  in  numbers  and  efficiency,  two  sister 
churches  of  the  same  denomination  established  in  the  community, 
and  a  Lutheran  Synod,  a  Theological  Seminary,  and  a  flourishing 
Lutheran  College  established  in  the  State.  He  stood  amid  the 
revolutions  of  the  changing  years,  and  saw  the  brethren  who  wel- 
comed him  upon  his  arrival  here,  and  were  his  companions  in  the 
early  history  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  Charleston,  falling  by 
death  on  every  side,  until  at  the  close  of  his  eventful  life  he  Avas 
the  one  connecting  link  between  the  past  and  present,  surrounded 
only  by  the  children  of  his  former  friends,  down  to  the  fourth 
generation,  whom  he  had  come  to  look  upon  as  the  children  of 
his  heart  as  well  as  the  members  of  his  spiritual  flock. 

In  1835,  Dr.  Bachman,  then  in  his  forty-fifth  year,  received  the 
degree  of  doctor  of  divinity.  In  the  autumn  of  1837,  the  de- 
voted pastor's  health  again  broke  down  under  the  arduous  labors 
which  devolved  upon  him,  and  which  included  the  preaching  of 
three  sermons  every  Sunday,  sometimes  in  English  and  sometimes 
in  German  ;  and  his  congregation  feeling  a  profound  interest  in 
the  preservation  of  his  life  and  the  restoration  of  his  enfeebled 
health,  unanimously  recjuested  him  to  take  a  respite  from  his 
labors.  He  accordingly  left  his  home  and  people  in  1838,  believ- 
ing, as  he  said,  that  he  had  looked  upon  the  land  of  his  nativity 
for  the  last  time,  and  that  he  was  destined  to  breathe  his  last 
among  strangers  in  a  foreign  land.  He  was  absent  eight  months, 
during  which  time  he  traversed  nearly  the  whole  of  Europe,  and 
received  on  all  hands  such  cordial  welcome,  appreciation  and  hos- 
pitality, such  manifestations  of  respect,  admiration  and  fraternal 
regard  as  his  eminent  scholastic  and  scientific  attainments,  his 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  81 

sturdy  piety,  and  his  pure  and  blameless  life,  commanded.     He 
returned  in  January,  1839,  his  health  considerably  improved,  but 
still  feeble,  for  which  reason  an  assistant  minister  was  employed 
by  the  congregation,  who  relieved  the  pastor  of  a  large  portion 
of  his  work  until  his  health  was  announced  once  more  restored. 
To  Dr.  Bachman  is  due  much  of  the  credit  of  reorganizing  and 
re-establishing  the   Evangelical   Lutheran   Churches  in  Georgia. 
In  the  winter  of  1823-24  he  went  to  Savannah,  where  he  was  in- 
strumental in  infusing  new  life  into  the  Lutherans  of  that  city. 
There  were  at  that  time  the  remnants  of  two  Lutheran  congrega- 
tions in  the  entire  State  of  Georgia.     The  church  at  Savannah 
had  been  burnt  down  in   1797  ;  the  congregation  at  Charleston 
had  contributed  $500  toward  rebuilding  it,  but  nothing  was  done 
toward   keeping  up  the   congregation.     It   had   no   pastor    and 
gradually  became  disorganized.     The  small  building  which  had 
been  erected  was  occupied  as  a  Sunday  school  by  another  denomi- 
nation,    Dr.  Bachman's  visit  was  not  a  moment  too  soon  ;  a  few 
more  years  of  neglect,  says  Dr.  Bernheim  in  his  history  of  the 
Lutheran  Church,  would  have  extinguished  the  name  of  Luther- 
anism  in  Savannah.     By  means  of  his  well  directed  and  energetic 
labors,  a  congregation   was  at  once   organized,   and   in   about  a 
month's  time  was  turned  over  to  the  pastoral  care  of  the  Rev.  S. 
A.  Mealy,  who  had  been  niised  up  in  the  Lutheran  Church,  at 
Charleston,  and  whose  theological  training  had  been  received  from 
Dr.  Bachman.     From  that  time  the  Lutheran  Church  in  Savan- 
nah continued  to  prosper,  under  the  efficient  labors  of  a  succession 
of  devoted  pastors.     Having  completed  his  good  work  in  Savan- 
nah, he  now  turned  his  attention  to  the  church  at  Ebenezer,  the 
aged  pastor  of  which  was  fast  sinking  into  the  grave.     By  his  ju- 
cious  labors,  a  son  of  Dr.  Bergmann,  who  had  taken  a  license  to 
preach  the  gospel  under  the  auspices  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
was  induced  to  rejoin  the  Lutheran  Church,  and  being  subse- 
quently ordained  at  the  newly  organized  Synod  of  South  Caro- 
lina, which  met  in  Lexington  district,  on  the  18th  of  November, 
1824,  returned  to  Ebenezer,  and  became  the  esteemed  pastor  of 
the  Church  in  which  his  aged  father,  now  dead,  had  labored  so 
zealously  and  so  faithfully. 

Dr.  Bachman  was  married  January,  23,  1816,  to  Miss  Harriet 
Martin,  who  died  in  1838.  In  1848  he  married  Miss  Maria  Mar- 
tin, a  sister  of  his  first  wife,  who  died  in  December,  1863.     He 


82  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY. 

has  had  fourteen  children,  of  whom,  five  died  young,  four  died 
grown,  and  five  are  now  alive.  His  two  eldest  daughters  mar- 
ried the  two  only  sons  of  Audubon,  the  naturalist.  They  died ; 
one. without  issue,  the  other  (Mrs.  John  Audubon)  left  two  daugh- 
ters, of  whom  one  is  now  living  in  West  Chester  county,  New 
York  (Mrs.  Delancy  Williams),  with  three  children.  The  other, 
Harriet  Audubon,  is  now  living  with  her  aged  grandmother  (wife 
of  the  naturalist),  in  Louisville,  Kentucky. 

Dr.  Bachman  took  no  part  in  politics.  He  abhorred  from  his 
very  soul  that  hvbrid  in  professional  life,  "  a  jiolitical  parson." 
But  he  was  an  ardent  lover  of  his  country,  and  at  no  time  indif- 
erent  to  her  welfare.  He  took  the  most  anxious  interest  in  the 
political  events  which  preceded  the  late  war.  A  friend  happened 
to  be  with  Dr.  Bachman  on  the  fast  day  appointed  by  Gov.  Gist, 
soon  after  the  election  of  President  Lincoln  in  1860.  The  con- 
versation was  about  Dr.  Darwin's  "Origin  of  Species,"  then  but 
recently  published.  Dr.  Bachman  mentioned  that  thirty  years 
before  he  had  met  the  young  Charles  Darwin  in  England,  just 
after  his  return  from  a  cruise  on  H.  M.  Ship  "  Beagle,"  and  there 
Darwin  had  told  him  that  he  had  foresworn  science,  and  thenceforth 
was  going  to  give  himself  to  the  service  of  the  church,  and  that 
he  would  not  rest  satisfied  until  he  should  be  made  a  bishop. 
While  giving  these  reminiscences,  the  venerable  doctor  brightened 
up  with  the  reflection  of  the  glow  of  youth  that  illumined  his 
mind  as  he  was  retracing  the  incidents  of  earlier  years.  All  at 
once  he  broke  oif  abruptly,  and  with  countenance  overcast  with 
gloom,  said  :  "  My  mind  is  not  upon  these  things.  I  have  this 
day  done  the  saddest  act  of  life  ;  I  have  preached  a  sermon  against 
the  Union,  and  upholding  the  secession  movement  of  our  people. 
My  father  fought  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  I  was  taught  from 
my  earliest  childhood  to  venerate  my  country's  flag."  Then 
walking  to  the  window,  and  pointing  to  the  United  States  flag  on 
the  Arsenal  building,  he  said  ;  "  Many  and  many  a  time  have  I 
looked  upon  that  flag  with  pride.  It  grieves  me  that  I  can  do  so 
no  more.  I  love  the  Union,  but  I  must  go  with  my  people." 
Tears  were  in  the  old  man's  eyes  when  he  said  this.  And  faith- 
fully and  nobly  did  he  redeem  his  promise  of  going  with  his  peo- 
ple. Soon  after  the  commencement  of  war  he  organized  a  society 
for  the  relief  of  wounded  soldiers,  and  until  near  the  close  of  the 
war  he  was  unwearied  in  his  eftbrts  to  collect  funds,  provisions, 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  83 

clothing,  etc.,  for  this  pui"pose.  Although  seventy-five  years  old 
then,  he  spared  not  himself  nor  his  waning  strength,  but  made 
many  fatiguing  journeys  to  Virginia  to  carry  conilort  and  succor 
to  those  who  needed  his  ministrations.  It  is  needless  to  say  that 
his  efforts  were  crowned  with  the  greatest  succe.ss. 

After  the  evacuation  of  Charleston,  and  the  abandonment  of 
the  sea  coast  of  South  Carolina  became  certain.  Dr.  Bachman  ac- 
cepted the  invitation  of  a  friend  in  the  northern  part  of  the  state, 
and  sought  shelter  under  the  hospitable  roof  of  General  Cash, 
near  Cheraw.  But  the  hope  of  safety  proved  fallacious.  Chester- 
field county,  as  is  well  known,  was  visited  by  Sherman's  host. 
Dr.  Bachman,  doubtless  mistaken  for  the  owner  of  the  house,  was 
beaten  by  the  brutal  soldiery,  because  he  would  not  reveal  where 
"  the  treasure  was  hid."  It  is  the  opinion  of  many  that  this  beat- 
ing was  the  cause  of  the  disease  which  soon  after  befell  him. 

The  close  of  the  war  found  him  a  mere  wreck  of  his  former  self. 
In  common  with  nearly  all  his  fellow-citizens  he  lost  the  greater 
part  of  his  property  ;  his  library,  a  large  collection  of  valuable 
works  on  natural  science,  theology  and  general  literature,  the 
laborious  accumulation  of  over  three  score  years,  fell  a  prey  to 
the  flames  when  Columbia  was  burned.  He  was  prostrated  wuth 
paralysis  several  years  ago,  and  his  life  despaired  of  by  his  friends  ; 
but  thanks  to  an  iron  constitution,  he  rallied  again  and  again. 
He  preached  but  rarely,  but  continued  more  or  less  to  attend  to 

his  duties  until  about  January,  18C9,  when  the  Eev.  W.  W.  H 

assistant  pastor,  was  engaged.  From  this  date,  with  but  one  or 
two  exceptions,  he  ceased  from  the  church  ministrations.  Mr. 
Honour  officiated  until  February,  1872,  when  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dosh 
took  charge  of  the  church.  Dr.  Bachman,  however,  generallv 
participated  in  any  important  public  occasion,  as  for  instance  in 
the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the  German  church  in  l^ing 
street,  and  again  at  the  consecration  of  the  church  five  years 
afterward. 

HIS  SCIENTIFIC  AND  I.rrEKAHY  LABORS. 

Dr.  Bachman  was  first  of  all,  and  above  all  things,  a  pious,  de- 
voted Christian  pastor,  and  it  was  this  field  of  labor  which  com- 
manded the  most  earnest  cliorts  of  his  active  mind  and  occupied 
the  first  place  in  his  great  heart.  But  he  was  also  eminent  as  a 
savant  and  an  author,  and  in  these  capacities  his  name  will  live 


84  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

as  long  as  the  literature  of  the  English  language  retains  a  history. 
He  was  an  ardent  devotee  of  nature,  never  more  at  home  than 
when  out  of  doors.  He  loved  nature  in  all  her  forms,  and  was 
fond  of  field  sports,  fishing,  boating,  and  indeed  of  all  healthful 
and  manly  exercises.  Gardening  was  one  of  his  favorite  recrea- 
tions, and  he  took  a  pride  in  its  pursuit.  It  was  this  love  of 
nature,  doubtless,  which  early  gave  a  bent  to  his  studies,  and  to 
become  a  naturalist  soon  came  to  be  his  great  ambition.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  state  that  he  never  allowed  his  scientific  tastes  or 
pursuits  to  interfere  in  any  manner  with  the  duties  of  his  sacred 
calling,  but  all  his  leisure,  and  that  time  which  others  give  to  the 
social  amenities,  was  devoted  by  him  to  the  study  of  nature.  In 
forming  an  estimate  of  his  acquirements  and  the  vast  labor  achiev- 
ed by  him,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  in  him  was  exhibited 
one  of  the  finest  specimens  of  German  industry.  Of  a  strong 
frame,  habitually  in  robust  health,  at  least  during  the  former  half 
of  his  life,  and  possessed  of  a  rare  buoyancy  of  spirit,  he  could 
Avork  with  great  rapidity,  while  his  well-trained  mind,  sound 
judgment  and  retentive  memory  still  further  facilitated  his  self- 
imposed  tasks.  Nor  was  he  an  amateur  in  science.  He  was  thor- 
ough in  all  he  undertook,  and  shunned  no  labor  to  make  himself 
master  of  his  sulyect.  With  this  view,  he  studied  anatomy  care- 
fully, dissecting  every  animal  he  studied  or  described.  Compar- 
ative anatomv  was  his  favorite  subject,  and  in  this  he  achieved 
great  results.  Botany,  mineralogy  and  geology  at  diflferent  times 
claimed  more  or  less  of  his  attention,  but  the  study  of  animal  na- 
ture was  his  preference,  and  zoology  came  to  be  his  specialty. 
Not  to  mention  innumerable  monograms  touching  upon  questions 
in  his  branch,  he  published  jointly  with  Audubon,  "  The  Quadru- 
peds of  North  America,"  to  this  day  the  finest  work  upon  the 
subject  that  has  appeared  in  this  country.  Mr.  Audubon  furnish- 
ed the  designs  and  Dr.  Bachman  the  text.  He  also  gave  Audubon 
great  assistance  in  his  celebrated  work  on  "  The  Birds  of  North 
America."  These  labors  introduced  him  to  the  entire  world  of 
science,  and  he  everywhere  found  most  gratifying  recognition. 
Honors  came  pouring  in  thick  and  fast.  He  received  the  degree 
of  doctor  of  philosophy  from  Berlin  in  1838,  and  that  of  doctor 
of  laws  from  the  South  Carolina  College  at  Columbia  about  the 
same  time.  He  was  elected  to  membership  in  almost  every  scien- 
tific association  on  the  habitable  globe.     The  magnates  of  science 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  85 

in  England,  France,  Germany,  Holland,  Switzerland,  Sweden  and 
Denmark,  testified  their  apj^reciation  of  his  services  by  their  let- 
ters, and  with  many  he  maintained  a  correspondence  to  his  latest 
years.  The  great  Alexander  Von  Humboldt  was  one  of  his 
warmest  friends,  and  when,  in  1850,  he  published  his  treatise  on 
the  "  Unity  of  the  Human  Race,"  he  dedicated  it  to  his  friend, 
the  greatest  of  German  physicists.  The  work  just  named  was 
among  the  last  of  his  strictly  scientific  publications.  He  had 
passed  his  three-score  years,  disclaimed  any  further  ambition  in 
the  republic  of  letters,  and  expressed  a  determination  to  devote 
the  remainder  of  his  life  to  his  pastoral  duties.  But  the  que.stion 
of  the  unity  or  plurality  of  origin  of  the  human  race  having  be- 
come one  of  the  controversies  of  the  day,  and  from  its  nature, 
inferentially  at  least,  partaking  somewhat  of  a  theological  char- 
acter, Dr.  Bachman  was  drawn  into  the  arena,  and  once  in,  he 
bent  all  the  energies  of  his  well-stored  mind  to  the  demonstration 
of  the  truth  of  his  side  of  the  controversy — the  unity  of  origin. 

Although  a  great  devotee  of  science,  this  study  was,  as  we  have 
stated,  secondary  with  Dr.  Bachman,  and  whenever  modern  science 
seemed  to  clash  with  revelation,  as  has  happened  very  frequently 
in  the  controversies  during  the  present  century,  as  new  discoveries 
have  been  made,  from  time  to  time,  in  geology,  chronology  or  eth- 
nology, Dr.  Bachman  arrayed  himself  on  the  side  of  religious 
orthodoxy,  and  in  every  conflict  proved  a  tower  of  strength. 

Besides  these  works,  most  of  which  are  far  more  scientific  than 
theological,  and  altogether  polemical  or  combative.  Dr.  Bachman 
furnished  from  time  to  time  a  great  number  of  essays,  reviews, 
sermons,  editorials,  and  articles  in  the  various  periodicals  of  the 
day.  From  1835  to  1840,  he  wrote  a  great  deal  for  the  editorial 
columns  of  the  Southern  Agricultural  Journal.  At  another  time 
he  delivered  and  published  a  .sermon  against  duelling  ;  and  besides 
all  these  works  which  have  seen  the  light,  he  had  several  scien- 
tific works,  which  were  nearly  ready  for  publication,  destroyed  at 
the  burning  of  Columbia  in  February,  1865. 

HIS  PERSONAL  CHARACTER. 

There  was  something  simple  and  childlike  in  the  character  of 

Dr.  Bachman  which  inspired  confidence  almost  instantaneously. 

He  was   always  at  home  with   children,  and    for  children,  and 

cheerfully  gave  his  time  and  labor  to  instruct  and  entertain  the 

6 


86  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

little  ones.  About  1850  the  Sunday-School  Visitor  was  established 
in  Charleston,  by  the  M.  E.  Church,  South,  edited  by  the  Rev. 
Thomas  0.  Summers,  D.  D.  He  asked  his  friend  Dr.  Bachman  to 
contribute  articles  on  zoology  for  this  journal.  The  venerable  di- 
vine thought  it  not  beneath  himself,  but  furnished  an  article  on 
some  bird  or  animal  for  each  number  of  the  Visitor  for  several 
years.  These  sketches,  off-hand,  though  they  were,  showed  the 
master-hand.  It  was  science  popularized,  not  as  is  too  much  the 
fashion  now-a-days  by  hack-writers  who  "read  up"  for  the  occa- 
sion, but  as  Herschel  popularized  astronomy.  He  could  make 
everything  clear  and  intelligible,  because  he  had  a  perfect  com- 
prehension of  it  himself.  Whatever  he  touched  he  adorned ;  for 
the  keen,  ripe  intellect  was  always  guided  by  a  spirit  of  justice, 
and  tempered  by  a  loving  heart. 

For  a  list  of  his  writings  see  Bibliotheca  Lutherana. 


FREDERICK    CHRISTIAN    SCHAEFFER, 

of  New  York,  was  known  by  but  few  men  south  of  New  York. 
He  did  not  take  an  active  part  in  general  church  affairs,  and 
never  attended  the  General  Synod,  to  which  he  was  not  well  dis- 
posed. He  died  as  early  as  1832,  and  that  was  about  the  transi- 
tion period,  or  at  least  when  a  class  of  younger  men  was  displaying 
increased  activity  in  the  church. 

Mr.  S.  had  some  reputation  as  a  literary  man,  and  also  paid 
some  attention  to  natural  science.  It  was  at  a  time  when  science 
had  but  few  votaries  in  this  country,  and  when  opportunities  of 
acquiring  knowledge  in  Natural  History  were  meagre.  He  made 
some  exchanges  of  minerals  with  a  professor  of  Science  in  Europe, 
who  expressed  to  me  his  extreme  dissatisfaction  with  what  he  had 
received  from  Mr.  S.  in  exchange  for  a  box  previously  sent  him. 
I  made  every  apology  for  him,  but  the  learned  German  was  in- 
exorable. 

A  writer  in  Sprague's  Annals  (p.  147)  mentions  a  noteworthy 
fact  "that  the  King  of  Prussia  presented  him  with  a  large  gold 
medal  as  an  acknowledgement  for  his  services  in  extending  among 
his  subjects  the  knowledge  of  the  Natural  History  of  this  country." 

I  never  saw  Mr,  S.  but  once.     One  hot  Sunday  night  I  observed 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  87 

a  stranger  in  my  church,  who  struck  me  as  a  remarkably  hand- 
some man,  bearing  a  strong  resemblance  to  his  brother,  David  F., 
in  Frederick.  I  was  not  mistaken,  and  after  service  I  introduced 
myself,  and  remarked,  "  Sir,  you  are  aSchaefFer."  I  accompanied 
him  to  his  lodging  place,  and  had  an  hour's  pleasant  conversation 
with  him.  He  was  then  in  bad  health,  and  had  already  abandoned 
preaching.     He  died  soon  after. 

He  was  a  graceful  writer,  and  had  a  decided  talent  for  com- 
posing parables  after  the  Krummacher  school,  a  volume  of  which 
was  published.  He  also  published  a  Sermon  on  the  Reformation, 
and  a  singular  fact  was  connected  with  it,  showing  that  as  far 
back  as  1817,  the  Episcopal  Church  was  more  tolerant  of  minis- 
ters of  other  churches  than  at  present.  This  sermon  was  preached 
in  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Church  of  New  York  !  of  course,  with  the 
sanction  of  the  high  authorities. 

A  German  Reformed  minister  once  told  me  that  Mr.  S.  preached 
for  him  upon  the  text  "I  am  the  rose  of  Sharon,"  in  which  he 
drew  a  beautiful  analogy  between  the  flower  and  Christ.  xVs 
early  as  1830,  when  he  was  38  years  of  age,  he  was  honored  with 
the  degree  of  D.  J),  by  Columbia  College. 

He  had  some  difficulties  with  a  colleague  arising  out  of  that 
fruitful  source  of  strife  in  many  of  our  churches  of  that  period, 
and  more  recently  also,  and  that  is  the  introduction  of  English 
preaching.  The  result  of  this  quarrel  was  that  Dr.  S.  and  his 
congregation  left  the  house  of  worship  in  which  they  had  assem- 
bled for  some  time  and  which  was  sold  to  the  Germans.  He  and 
his  people  removed  to  the  edifice  known  as  St.  James'  Church, 
presented  to  the  congregation  by  Mr.  Lorillard,  who  desired  to 
be,  and  for  a  long  time  was,  unknown  as  the  generous  donor. 
Here  he  continued  to  labor  until  the  close  of  his  life,  in  March, 
1832,  aged  40. 

Dr.  Schaeffer  published  The  German  Correspondent,  one  volume  ; 
Sermon  at  the  Centennial  Jubilee  of  the  Reformation,  1817  ;  Par- 
ables and  Parabolic  Sayings,  one  volume. 

FROM  THE  REV.   HENRY  N.   POIILMAN,  D.  D. 

Albany,  December  0,  1861. 

My  Dear  Sir  :  In  1820,  while  I  was  yet  connected  with  the 
Hartwick  Seminary,  I  received  a  letter  from  the  Rev.  F.  C.  Schaef- 
fer, requesting  me  to  come  and  take  charge  of  a  mission  in  the 


00  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

State  of  New  Jersey  ;  and  thus  commenced  an  acquaintance  be- 
tween us,  which  grew  into  a  close  intimacy  that  was  terminated 
only  by  his  death. 

Dr.  Schaeffer  was  altogether  one  of  the  finest  looking  men 
whom  I  have  ever  met  with — if  I  were  to  say  that  there  was  not 
a  nobler,  more  beautiful  specimen  of  physical  humanity  than  he 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  during  the  period  of  his  residence  there, 

1  am  confident  that  I  should  not  be  chargeable  with  exaggeration. 
His  face  was  of  rather  the  Jewish  type — his  eyes  were  black  and 
piercing,  his  complexion  dark,  his  nose  Roman,  his  whole  face 
beaming  with  intelligence,  and  capable  of  expressing  every  variety 
of  emotion.  Had  it  not  been  that  there  was  a  slight  degree  of 
heaviness  in  his  movements,  it  would  have  been  difiicult  to  have 
suggested  any  improvement  in  his  outer  man.  And  his  mind  was 
scarcely  less  extraordinary  than  the  face  which  it  animated  and 
illumined — it  was  inventive,  brilliant,  logical  and  graceful.  He 
had  an  uncommonly  genial  spirit,  and  was  one  of  the  most  gen- 
erous and  loving  of  friends,  while  those  whom  he  did  not  like 
were  in  no  danger  of  mistaking  his  feelings  towards  them.  He 
was  a  highly  educated  man,  and  failed  not  to  make  his  mark  in 
literary  society.  For  several  years  he  wasj:he  German  correspon- 
dent of  the  New  York  Spectator ;  and  he  was  also  a  member  of  a 
club  which  used  to  hold  meetings  for  purposes  of  intellectual  cul- 
ture and  enjoyment,  with  which  Dr.  Samuel  L.  Mitchell  was 
prominently  connected.  He  was  a  great  lover  of  Natural  History. 
He  exchanged  many  specimens  of  birds,  insects  and  minerals  with 
several  men  of  science  in  Prussia ;  and  the  King  of  Prussia  pre- 
sented him  with  a  large  gold  medal  as  an  acknowledgment  for  his 
services  in  extending  among  his  subjects  the  knowledge  of  the 
Natural  History  of  this  country.  He  was  a  splendid  musician, 
and  played  skillfully  on  a  variety  of  instruments.  He  had  re- 
markably fine  powers  of  conversation,  and  not  only  spoke  out  of 
a  richly  endowed  and  highly  cultivated  mind,  but  had  the  faculty 
of  communicating  what  he  knew  with  a  most  graceful  facility. 
At  the  same  time,  he  was  a  devout  Christian,  and  never  forgot 
that  his  main  business  was  in  dealing  with  men  in  respect  to  their 
higher  and  immortal  interests.  While  he  was  faithful  to  his  im- 
mediate charge,  in  the  performance  of  pastoral  duty,  he  took  a 
deep  interest  in  the  general  advancement  of  Christ's  Kingdom, 
and  was  always  ready  to  contribute  his  time,  or  lend  the  influence 
of  his  talents,  to  help  forward  any  truly  Christian  enterprise. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  89 

As  a  preacher,  he  was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  popular 
and  effective  of  his  day.  His  voice  was  of  great  compass  and 
melody,  and  his  utterance  perfectly  distinct,  and  his  whole  manner 
graceful,  earnest  and  attractive.  He  had  nothing  more  than  the 
outline  of  his  sermon  before  him  in  the  pulpit,  but  it  was  evident 
that  his  train  of  thought  at  least  was  thoroughly  premeditated, 
and  that  it  was  beaten  oil  that  he  had  brought  into  the  sanctuary. 
He  preached  in  English  and  German  with  equal  ease.  It  was  a 
mark  of  extraordinary  respect  for  both  his  talents  and  virtues  that, 
in  1817,  he  was  allowed  to  preach  in  St.  Paul's  (Episcopal)  Church, 
New  York,  a  Sermon  commemorative  of  the  beginning  of  the 
great  Reformation. 

It  may  safely  be  said  that  Dr.  Schaeffer,  young  as  he  was,  was 
one  of  the  prominent  ministers  of  his  denomination  ;  and  when 
he  died,  the  universal  feeling  was  that  a  great  light  had  been 
extinguished.  As  ever,  yours  sincerely, 

Hekry  N.  PonLM.\x. 


DR.  GEORGE    B.  MILLER, 

of  Hartwick  Seminary,  never  appeared  among  us  in  the  central 
section  of  the  Church,  except  at  the  meeting  of  the  General  Synod 
at  Chambersburg,  in  1839.  I  never  tried  harder  to  become  ac- 
quainted with  any  man,  but  he  seemed  unapproachable,  and  I 
thought  repulsiveh^  cold.  His  friends  and  pupils,  however,  told 
me  that  this  was  not  his  disposition,  but  that  he  was  eminently  un- 
obtrusive and  indeed  bashful. 

He  took  no  part  in  the  discussions,  and  like  Dr.  Wackerhagen, 
his  colleague,  he  seemed  little  concerned  in  the  affairs  of  the  Gen- 
eral Synod.  His  pupils,  who  were  many,  say  that  he  was  a  thor- 
ough scholar  and  a  most  successful  teacher.  He  had  no  oratorical 
grace  as  a  speaker,  but  his  sermons  are  sound  and  thoroughly 
elaborated.  One  of  his  sermons  was  reviewed  by  "  S.  S.  S."  in 
Vol.  1  of  Lutheran  Observer,  and  I  happen  to  know  that  a  copy 
of  the  review  was  sent  to  him  before  publication  by  the  writer  of 
it,  to  ascertain  whether  it  contained  any  thing  that  he  might  wish 
to  alter.     He  was  for  many  years  instructor  in  Hartwick  Seminary. 


90  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

"  We  have  no  hesitation  in  asserting,"  writes  Dr.  H.  I.  Schmidt, 
who  knew  him  well,  "that  he  had  not  his  equal  in  our  church. 

*  *  *  *  He  possessed  the  most  absolute  and  ultimate  fa- 
miliarity with  the  various  exact  sciences.  He  had  the  most  per- 
fect command  of  our  own  vernacular.  He  spoke  and  wrote  both 
French  and  German  with  great  facility  He  was  a  profound  He- 
braist, and  his  knowledge  of  the  classical  languages  was  accurate, 
critical  and  complete.  *******  jjg  seemed  to  get 
into  the  inermost  heart  of  a  language,  to  master  its  idioms,     * 

*  *  *  and  to  comprehend  its  genius  with  a  sort  of  intuition. 
His  knowledge  of  the  scriptures  was  absolutely  ubiquitous." 

It  is  said  that  he  was  so  familiar  with  the  sacred  volume  that 
he  never  had  occasion  to  use  a  concordance,  but,  with  almost  un- 
failing success,  could  turn  to  the  passage  which  he  required.  He 
was  a  very  able  theologian.  "  His  reading,"  says  Dr.  Schmidt, 
"  was  peculiar.  He  appropriated  what  others  had  to  give  with 
extraordinary  rapidity,  and  when  most  men  would  have  labored 
painfully  through  page  after  page,  he  got  at  the  pith  and  marrow 
of  any  new  book  by  a  marvellously  expeditious  process,  a  sort  of 
intellectual  affinity,  which,  aided  by  a  most  retentive  memory, 
made  him  master  of  his  author's  meaning  in  an  incredibly  short 
space  of  time."* 


Every  person  who  ever  knew 

DR.  PHILIP   F.  MAYER, 

of  Philadelphia,  must  have  admired  the  courteous  gentleman  and 
the  agreeable,  intelligent  conversationalist.  Properly,  perhaps, 
he  should  have  his  place  among  the  older  men  of  the  church,  for 
he  was  licensed  as  early  as  1802,  but  he  outlived  most  of  them, 
having  died  in  1857. 

He  was  the  only  minister  in  the  church  who,  in  those  early 
days,  served  an  exclusively  English  congregation,  and  to  this  one 
he  preached  for  fifty  years. 

Though  residing  in  Philadelphia,  yet  he  retained  his  connection 
with  the  Synod  of  New  York,  and  seldom  attended  any  other  as 
a  delegate  and  never  as  a  mere  visitor.     He  did  not  go  where  he 

*  For  a  fuller  biographical  sketch  by  Professor  Stoever,  sec  Ev.  Kev.  XXI,  24. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LrTIIEEAN    MINISTRY.  91 

had  no  business,  and  lie  was  too  jealous  of  his  time  to  waste  it 
upon  Synodical  idling. 

He  was  all  his  life  througli  an  opponent  of  the  General  Synod, 
although  he  was  present  at  its  formation  at  Hagerstown  in  1820. 
He  was  distrustful  of  the  men  into  whose  hands  the  control  of  it 
afterwards  fell,  and  he  always  kept  aloof  from  it. 

He  carefully  prepared  and  fully  wrote  out  every  sermon  he 
preached,  and  being  particularly  exact  and  even  severe  towards 
himself,  he  thought  he  had  a  right  to  be  so  towards  others,  and 
hence  usually  asked  to  see  the  sermons  which  young  men,  whom 
he  invited  to  his  pulpit,  intended  to  preach.  One  young  man 
whom  the  Doctor  had  invited  to  preach,  and  who  had  heard  of 
this  habit  of  his,  when  asked  what  and  how  he  was  going  to  preach, 
saucily  replied,  "  Sir,  if  I  am  to  preach  for  you,  your  people  must 
be  content  to  hear  what  my  people  do,  and  I  am  not  going  to 
change  my  manner  to  accommodate  you  !"  The  Doctor  said  noth- 
ing, but  was  evidently  displeased.  On  another  occasion  the  same 
young  man  was  in  Philadelphia  and  the  Doctor  again  invited  him. 
It  happened  to  be  Ascension  Day,  and  the  stranger  had  no  sermon 
with  him  adapted  to  the  occasion,  and  he  thought  it  too  late  to 
prepare  one.  This  Dr.  Mayer  did  not  like,  but  consented  to  the 
arrangement.  After  the  young  man  had  returned  to  his  boarding 
house,  the  Doctor  came  and,  in  the  politest  way  possible,  said 
that  he  could  not  possibly  allow  the  Festival  day  to  pass  without 
an  appropriate  discourse,  and  released  the  stranger  from  the  en- 
gagement. He  was  right,  but  the  young  man  did  not  see  it  in 
that  light  at  that  time. 

He  persistently  refused  to  have  an  assistant  though  frequently 
urged  upon  him.  He  declared  that  when  he  was  no  longer  able 
to  discharge  all  the  duties  of  the  ministry,  he  would  resign,  but 
not  until  then. 

In  his  younger  days,  about  the  year  1806,  when  he  settled  in 
Philadelphia,  he  was  a  very  popular  preacher,  and  crowds  of  peo- 
ple went  to  hear  him. 

Like  many  others  of  our  ministers  who  uphold  the  English  in- 
terests in  the  church.  Dr.  M.  met  with  violent  opposition  from  the 
German  ministers,  and  even  refused  all  intercourse  with  him. 
He  assumed  and  maintained  a  resolute  stand,  and  deserves  ever- 
lasting credit  for  the  perseverance  with  which  he  carried  out  his 
measures  in  this  regard. 


92  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

He  rendered  good  service  in  the  cause  of  education,  and  was 
all  his  life  long  an  active  friend  of  various  benevolent  societies. 

No  one  ever  charged  Dr.  M.  with  insincerity  or  duplicity.  He 
was  not  a  man  of  policy,  and  he  abhorred  petty  intrigue  and  low 
cunning.  He  had  no  respect  for  men  who  were  not  frank,  ojjen- 
hearted  and  honest.  I  have  heard  him  severely  denounce  men 
whom  he  suspected  of  double  dealing. 

Whilst  he  was  polite,  refined  and  courteous,  yet  he  was  rather 
distant,  and  maintained  a  dignity  which  I  have  thought  excessive. 
Perhaps  with  others  he  may  have  been  more  sociable,  but  I  doubt 
whether  he  ever  admitted  any  of  his  brethren  to  familiar  intimacy. 

No  man  was  ever  more  highly  respected  by  his  colleagues,  for 
they  had  confidence  in  his  integrity,  sound  judgment  and  unaf- 
fected piety. 

I  regret  that  my  limited  space  will  not  permit  me  to  dwell 
longer  upon  the  admirable  character  of  Dr.  Mayer,  but  I  refer 
my  readers  to  ihe  Ev.  Rev.  X,  190,  and  Prof.  Stoever's  Eulogy, 
Phila.,  1859,  for  full  information. 


■"in'tST- —    <4-<z>>ii 


DR.  JACOB  MILLER, 


of  Reading,'  (though  he  never  accepted  the  title  given  him  by  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania),  will  be  remembered  by  many  of  us, 
as  a  man  of  large  frame,  of  commanding  presence,  of  dark  fea- 
tures and  with  a  head  as  Websterian  as  you  will  meet  in  a  year. 
He  had  firmness  approximating  to  obstinacy,  depicted  on  every 
lineament  of  his  expressive  face.  To  strangers,  he  was  reserved 
and  apparently  stern,  but  his  intimate  friends  said  that  in  society 
he  was  frank  and  genial.  I  never  met  him  but  once,  when  I 
thought  he  was  cold,  although  I  was  a  very  young  man  and  had 
no  right  to  look  for  courtesies.  I  soon  ascertained  that  in  the 
Synod  he  wielded  an  immense  influence  and  yet  he  did  not  always 
carry  his  points.  Pie  was  the  most  uncompromising  02:)ponent  of 
the  General  Synod,  and  he  had  few  courtesies  to  show  to  those 
outside  of  his  Synod  who  were  differently  disposed.  He  went  so 
far  as  to  maintain  that  the  General  Synod  aimed  at  political  in- 
fluence as  well  as  religious  bondage,  and  conceived  violent  preju- 
dices against  the  leaders  of  that  enterprise.     He  never  attended 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY,  93 

the  meetings  of  any  other  Synod  than  his  own,  and  thougli  he  had 
many  admirers  of  his  preaching  and  of  his  upright  life,  he  had 
few  warm  friends. 

It  was  a  long  time  and  after  a  severe  struggle  that  he  yielded 
to  the  necessity  of  introducing  the  English  language  into  his  pul- 
pit. He  was  intensely  Pennsylvania  German,  but  was  compelled 
to  give  way  to  the  overwhelming  current.  The  submission  was 
complete, — he  himself  recommended  a  worthy  young  man  as  his 
English  assistant,  who  was  elected,  and  with  whom  he  labored  in 
harmony  as  long  as' the  young  preacher  lived.  Dr.  Miller  died  in 
1850,  in  the  62  year  of  his  age. 

The  following  letter  from  Sprague's  Annals  is  a  faithful  por- 
trait : 

FIIOM  H.   II.   MITHTjENBEKG,   M.   D. 

KEADiNn,  Jiimjary  18,  1H()2. 

Dear  Sir  :  On  the  resignation  of  my  father  as  Pastor  of  Trinity 
Church  in  this  place,  Mr.  Miller  was  chosen  his  successor.  I  had 
then  just  concluded  my  college  course,  and  I  commenced  my  ac- 
quaintance with  him  by  finding  him  my  Pastor  on  my  return.  I 
was  one  of  his  first  class  of  catechumens,  and  well  remember  the 
interest  with  which  I  listened  to  his  explanations  of  the  Catechism, 
and  of  the  Principles  of  Natural  and  Revealed  Eeligion.  Al- 
though, after  a  college  course,  I  found  myself  rusty  in  the  German 
language,  I  managed  to  take  down  imperfectly  his  lectures,  and 
write  them  out  at  home,  from  time  to  time,  for  my  own  benefit 
and  the  convenience  of  my  friends  in  the  class,  some  of  whom 
were  growing  up  with  an  imperfect  knowledge  of  the  German, 
His  lectures  and  explanations  were  altogether  in  that  language  ; 
and,  if  my  recollection  serves  me,  but  one  of  the  class,  of  perhaps 
sixty  or  seventy,  used  the  English  Catechism  and  recited  in  the 
English  language.  His  lectures  were  adapted  to  the  humblest 
capacity,  and  were  at  once  easily  comprehended  and  easily  remem- 
bered. His  arguments,  and  in  some  instances  his  very  words,  are 
vividly  in  my  memory  to  this  day.  If  any  doubt  remained  in 
any  mind  in  respect  to  any  thing  in  his  public  lectures,  there  was 
no  hesitation  felt  in  asking  him  for  an  explanation  ;  and  it  was 
always  given  so  promptly  and  kindly  and  satisfactorily,  that  it 
became  really  a  pleasure  to  ask  him  questions.  » 

He  soon  acquired  the  confidence  and  affection  of  both  the  old 
and  the  voung,  and  we  felt  that  in  our  Pastor  we  had  also  a  faith- 


94  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY, 

ful  and  devoted  friend.  He  made  it  a  practice  to  visit  all  the 
members  of  his  church,  both  high  and  low,  at  least  once  a  year ; 
and  he  was  deeply  impressed  with  the  idea  that  it  was  essential 
to  a  minister's  highest  usefulness  that  he  should  have  a  personal 
acquaintance  with  those  who  constitute  his  pastoral  charge.  By 
his  social  disposition  and  winning  candour,  he  made  personal 
friends  of  all  who  had  the  opportunity  of  becoming  well  ac- 
quainted with  him.  Although  there  was  a  great  disparity  of 
years  between  him  and  myself  (he  being  in  the  prime  of  life,  and 
I  a  mere  youth),  I  soon  learned  to  look  upon  him  as  a  friend,  and 
one  of  my  greatest  pleasures  was  to  spend  as  much  time  as  I  could 
in  chatting  with  him  in  his  study.  He  always  seemed  disengaged, 
and  just  as  ready  to  converse  with  me  on  religion,  jDolitics  or  the 
occurrences  of  the  day,  according  to  the  mood  we  happened  to  be 
in,  as  if  I  had  been,  in  all  respects,  his  equal. 

By  years  of  intercourse  of  this  hind,  I  learned  that  his  opinions 
were  fixed  and  positive,  but  he  was  always  willing  to  explain  his 
own  views,  and  to  listen  patiently  to  the  arguments  that  were 
brought  against  them.  One  of  his  strong  prejudices  was  in  favor 
of  the  German  language,  as  excelling  the  English  in  copiousness, 
clearness  and  facility  for  expressing  ideas.  He  acknowledged  the 
English  as  the  language  of  the  land,  but  nothing  more,  and 
thought  that  every  person  of  liberal  education,  especially  every 
one  of  German  descent,  should  learn  and  use  the  German  lan- 
guage. He  would  never  hear  it  sneered  at  or  decried  without  an 
instant  word  in  its  defence,  and,  as  he  was  a  man  of  very  decided 
talents,  it  required  some  degree  of  courage  to  attack  his  opinions 
on  any  subject,  for  there  was  more  than  an  equal  chance  that  the 
assailant  would  not  come  off  victorious. 

Another  strong  prejudice  that  he  cherished  was  that  his  own 
Church  was  vastly  superior  to  any  other  in  respect  to  both  faith 
and  government.  Not  that  he  thought  other  churches  were  out 
of  the  pale  of  salvation,  or  denied  that  they  had  their  good  points, 
and  were  instrumental  of  promoting  the  Kedeemer's  cause  in  the 
salvation  of  souls,  but  he  thought  them  exceedingly  imperfect  as 
compared  with  our  own.  Ours  he  maintained  was  the  real  trunk, 
while  others  were  mere  branches,  and  the  Catholic  a  decayed  stem. 

Still  another  of  his  strong  prejudices  was  to  be  seen  in  his  oppo- 
sition to  the  General  Synod,  which  he  looked  upon  as  a  mere 
scheme  for  religious  and  even  political  influence.     Whether  this 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  95 

view  originated  in  personal  distrust  of  the  men  who  were  at  the 
head  of  the  enterprise,  or  in  general  views  of  luiman  wealcness, 
or  both,  I  am  not  able  to  say.  He  was  always  in  favor  of  the 
amplest  individual  and  congregational  liberty  of  religious  opinion 
and  connection,  consistent  with  his  views  of  Scriptural  truth.  I 
have  repeatedly  argued  this  point  with  him,  and  could  never 
even  get  him  to  agree  to  the  expediency  of  the  General  Synod,  as 
a  bond  of  closer  union  to  our  churches.  Nothing,  in  his  judg- 
ment, but  similarity  of  religious  faith  and  principle  could  be 
permanent.  In  this  connection  I  may  state  that,  although  he 
received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  from  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  he  never  recognized  it,  or  called  himself  any  thing 
else  than  Jacob  Miller,  Lutheran  clergyman.  Any  other  title 
than  this  was  decidedly  distasteful  to  him. 

Notwithstanding  the  fixedness  of  his  opinions,  when  he  became 
convinced  that  the  young  people  of  his  charge  in  Eeading  were 
growing  up  without  such  an  acquaintance  with  the  German  langu- 
age as  to  render  it  a  suitable  medium  for  conveying  to  them 
religious  knowledge,  he  yielded  his  strong  prepossession  in  its 
favor,  and  consented  to  the  introduction  of  the  English  into  his  con- 
gregation ;  and  when,  during  a  protracted  illness,  which  turned 
out  to  be  his  last,  he  sent  in  his  resignation,  the  congregation 
seemed  to  feel  as  if  his  place  could  never  be  more  than  partially 
filled.  Hence  the  difficulty  of  finding  a  successor,  for,  in  the 
affectionate  hearts  of  his  flock,  every  one  who  was  compared  with 
him  was  found  wanting,  and  he  will  never  be  forgotten,  never 
cease  to  be  loved,  by  those  who  sat  under  his  preaching  or  en- 
joyed his  friendship.     See  Ev.  Eev.  XIII,  561. 


REV.    J.    UHLHORN. 

Among  the  many  men  of  versatile  talent  and  high  mental  cul- 
ture which  our  church  has  furnished,  and  who,  in  other  spheres, 
would  have  far  outranked  many  celebrities  of  other  denomina- 
tions, none  deserves  a  more  exalted  position  than  Eev.  TJhlhorn, 
formerly  of  Zion's  German  Church  in  Baltimore.  He  came  to 
this  country  in  1824  or  25,  a  young,  highly  accomplished,  and 
rather  fashionable  ecclesiastic.     He  wore  rings  in  his  ears,  and 


96  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

his  outer  man  betrayed  other  evidences  of  more  expensive  and 
scrupuluus  attention  than  is  common  among  clergymen,  but  gradu- 
ally he  gracefully  accommodated  himself  to  our  more  simple 
American  customs. 

He  was  endowed  with  an  extraordinary  retentive  memory.  I 
have  heard  him  repeat  odes  of  Anacreon  and  other  Greek  poets 
with  perfect  correctness.  He  could  recite  chapters  of  the  Bible 
and  of  other  books  without  scarcely  missing  a  word.  But  these  were 
not  the  most  striking  proofs  of  the  strength  of  his  faculty.  Old 
Dr.  D.  Kurtz  has  told  me  that  Uhlhorn  could  repeat  a  long  Ger- 
man hymn  backwards,  after  reading  it  several  times  over. 

His  powers  of  impromptu  versification  were  wonderful.  I  have 
heard  him  recite  long  series  of  good  verses  upon  any  subject 
that  may  have  come  up,  and  on  short  extempore  couplets  he  was 
unsurpassed. 

His  manner  in  the  pulpit  would  be  considered  as  rather  over- 
strained, at  the  present  day,  but,  in  his  more  moderate  mood,  he 
was  grand  and  impressive. 

I  remember  reading  a  published  lecture  On  Action  in  Elocution, 
by  some  New  England  writer,  which  he  illustrated  by  an  examj^le 
which  he  had  witnessed  in  Baltimore.  One  Sunday,  he  remarked, 
happening  to  be  in  that  city,  he  strayed  into  a  church,  attracted 
by  the  music.  He  soon  discovered  it  was  a  German  church,  and 
he  did  not  understand  one  word  of  the  language.  He  concluded, 
however,  to  remain.  He  then  describes  the  manner  of  the 
preacher,  and  afterwards  inquired  whether  the  subject  of  the 
sermon  had  not  been  The  Prodigal  Son,  which  was  the  fact.  He 
says,  from  the  manner  and  acting  of  the  preacher,  he  could  see 
the  inconsiderate  young  man  leaving  home,  and  the  preacher 
acted  out  his  whole  subsequent  career,  even  to  his  return  home, 
so  naturally,  impressively,  speakingly,  that  the  scene  could  have 
been  no  other  than  that  of  "  The  Prodigal  Son."  I  remember 
showing  this  article  to  Uhlhorn,  but  he  had  too  much  good  sense 
to  betray  any  feeling  of  gratified  vanity. 


DR.  DAVID    F.  SCHAEFFER,  OF    FREDERICK. 

Those  of  us  who  have  had  the  joleasure  of  stopping  at  Dr.  Schaef- 
fer's  parsonage  in  Frederick,  "  long,  long  ago,"  will  never  forget  his 
kindness  and  generous  hospitality.     No  sojourner  at  his  house 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTEEP.AN    MINISTRY.  97 

could  look  for  his  company  during  tlie  day,  for  he  was  ever  on 
foot  or  in  the  saddle  visiting  his  people  or  attending  to  other  cleri- 
cal duties.  He  was  the  most  indefatigable  and  faithful  pastor  for 
many  years  that  was  ever  known  in  all  that  section.  In  allusion 
to  his  constant  habit  of  visiting  his  parishioners,  when  suffering 
from  the  slighest  indisposition,  some  persons  used  to  say,  "  If  Par- 
son Schaeffer's  people  have  only  the  toothache  they  send  for  him 
to  pray  with  them." 

He  was  particularly  attentive  to  the  young,  and  kept  up  the 
good  old  system  of  cathechization  every  Sunday  morning  all  the 
year  through.  With  good  old  Lutheran  doctrine,  he  inculcated 
profound  veneration  for  Martin  Luther,  as  a  man  and  a  reformer. 
I  have  heard  him  tell  some  amusing  stories  concerning  answers 
of  some  of  his  pupils  to  his  questions  on  the  difference  between  Lu- 
theran ism  and  Calvinism,  which  showed  that  sometimes  their  ideas 
were  much  confused  on  the  distinctive  points  of  theology. 

He  was  so  profoundly  venerated  even  by  the  children  of  his 
church,  that  a  prominent  member  of  our  communion  told  me  that 
when  he  was  a  boy,  in  Frederick,  he,  with  six  or  eight  other  boys, 
would  every  day,  on  returning  from  school,  go  a  square  out  of 
their  way  to  pass  Parson  Schaeffer's  house,  that  they  might  have 
the  privilege  and  pleasure  of  being  kindly  spoken  to  and  his 
hand  laid  upon  their  heads,  and  they  were  much  disappointed  if 
they  did  not  see  him. 

He  was  by  nature  a  courteous  gentleman.  In  walking  the  stx-eets 
of  Frederick  with  him,  he  would  politely  salute  every  man,  wo- 
man and  child  of  every  complexion,  and  stop  and  exchange  a  few 
words  with  half  of  them.  I  would  impatiently  hurry  him  on, 
when  he  would  say,  "  Young  man  !  the  most  of  these  people  are 
members  of  my  flock — they  are  worthy  of  my  respectful  regard ; 
by  these  cheap  attentions  I  gain  their  confidence,  and  they  open 
their  hearts  to  my  preaching."  He  was  right,  and  I  felt  the  force 
of  the  rebuke.  He  not  only  verbally  saluted  every  one  by  name, 
for  he  knew  everybody,  but  he  had  a  habit  of  lifting  his  hat  to 
every  one.  One  of  his  pupils  says,  "  It  was  sometimes  said,  by 
way  of  pleasantry,  that  he  always  wore  out  his  hat  first  at  the 
front  brim."  Before  the  establishment  of  the  Theological  Semi- 
nary at  Gettysburg,  Mr.  Schaeffer  always  had  some  young  candi- 
dates for  the  ministry  under  his  instruction. 

Mr.  S.  preached  exclusively  German  for  many  years,  and  had 


98  FIFTY    YEAES    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTKY. 

great  difficulty,  as  well  as  many  other  men,  in  introducing  Eng- 
lish preaching,  but  he  managed  it  in  time  and  succeeded.  In  this 
measure  he  was  opposed  by  some  who  spoke  English  as  well  as 
German,  and  whose  children  did  not  understand  it  all,  and  yet 
this  insane  obstinacy  and  stupidity  many  of  our  ministers  have 
encountered. 

Mr.  S.,  in  his  early  ministry,  received  his  small  salary  in  small 
proportions.'  One  day  a  country  deacon  came  to  his  house  and 
told  him  he  had  some  money  for  him,  but  did  not  pay  it  and 
leave,  but  he  sat  an  hour  or  two  until  dinner  time,  when,  of 
course,  he  was  invited  to  remain  ;  and  the  hungry  countryman, 
who  had  probably  never  sat  down  to  as  nice  and  plentiful  a  table, 
ate  enormously.  He  literally  gorged  his  inner  man  with  the  good 
things  of  the  table.  After  dinner,  he  remarked,  "Well,  parson, 
I  don't  want  to  keep  you  longer  out  of  your  money,"  and  deliber- 
ately handed  over  thirty-seven  cents  ! 

One  day  when  I  was  a  gue.st  at  his  house,  a  shabbily  dressed 
fellow  came  for  alms ;  the  man  was  ragged  and  unwashed,  and 
evidently  had  been  reduced  to  that  condition  by  intemperance. 
I  will  never  forget  the  manner  in  which  the  "parson"  treated 
him.  He  rebuked  him  in  terms  and  tones  so  tender,  and  seemed 
to  syjnpathize  with  him  so  deeply,  that  the  man  was  completely 
subdued,  and  went  away,  I  think,  a  better  man.  Thus  he  treated 
everybody,  though  I  have  heard  him  speak  severely  of  men  who 
he  thought  had  done  him  wrong,  especially  in  his  clerical  charac- 
ter and  activity. 

One  of  his  successors  tells  a  good  story  of  him  in  demonstration 
of  his  patriotism  and  public  spirit.  During  the  war  of  1812,  when 
Mr.  S.  was  just  25  years  of  age,  on  receiving  news  of  the  disgrace- 
ful battle  at  Bladensburg,  he  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  with 
Captain  B.  up  and  down  the  streets  of  Frederick,  calling  on  the 
young  men  to  organize  a  company  and  fight  for  their  country. 
In  the  course  of  a  few  hours  the  company  was  full.  He  then 
rode  with  them  three  miles,  and  delivered  an  address  and  offered 
a  prayer  while  all  the  soldiers  were  kneeling.  They  then  marched 
to  meet  the  enemy."  Towards  the  end  of  his  life  Mr.  S.  got  into 
painful  difficulties  with  our  Maryland  Synod,  and  I  never  per- 
formed a  more  reluctant  duty  than  to  inform  him  personally  of  the 
action  of  the  Synod,  which  was  incumbent  upon  me  as  President, 
I  persuaded  Dr.  Kurtz,  Sr.,  to  accompany  me,  and  prevailed  upon 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHEIIAN    MINISTRY.  99 

him,  a  life  long  friend  of  Mr.  S.,  to  make  the  communication, 
which  he  did  with  fatherly  tenderness  and  discretion.  Mr.  S. 
died  a  few  months  after,  in  May,  1837,  in  the  fiftieth  year  of  his 
age,  and  the  thirtieth  of  his  ministry.  He  never  was  pastor  of 
any  other  congregation. 

For  many  years  he  had  controlling  intluence  in  our  Synod,  and 
was  seldom  out  of  office. 

The  degree  of  D.  D.  was  conferred  upon  him  by  St.  Johns 
College,  Annapolis.  I  have  reason  to  know  that  he  keenly  felt 
the  apparent  neglect  of  our  own  college  to  bestow  upjon  him  the 
same  honor. 

He  was  very  jealous  of  any  depreciation  of  the  religious  char- 
acter of  his  church.  Some  years  ago  a  German  Reformed  revival- 
ist created  considerable  commotion  among  the  congregations  in 
Frederick,  and,  in  reporting  his  operations  to  a  Philadelphia  pa- 
per, inveighed  severely  against  the  coldness  and  religious  apathy 
of  the  people,  and  designated  them  as  a  "  field  of  dry  bones." 
This  roused  the  pious  wrath  of  Dr.  Schaeffer,  and  in  "  The  Intel- 
ligencer," which  he  then  edited,  he  entered  upon  a  labored  vindi- 
cation of  his  church,  and  showed  that  his  people  were  faithful 
attendants  upon  public  worship,  that  his  Sunday  school  was  in 
good  condition,  that  the  prayer  meeting  was  not  neglected,  and 
that  things  in  general  were  not  bad.  Though  he  was  evidently 
excited,  yet  the  vindication  was  made  in  good  temper.  He  some- 
times carried  this  disposition  to  a^jologize  for  his  people  a  little 
too  far,  though  I  believe  it  was  entirely  owing  to  his  paternal  re- 
gard for  them.  No  person  likes  to  hear  his  own  children  blamed. 
When,  at  the  meetings  of  the  Maryland  Synod  in  his  church, 
some  of  our  zealous  young  men,  in  their  exhortations,  would  urge 
the  people  to  greater  activity  m  general,  and  seem  to  indicate  that 
they  were  not  all  doing  their  duty,  Dr.  Schaeffer  would  invariably 
follow  with  a  recital  of  their  good  deeds,  as  much  as  to  say  that 
sucli  exhortations  were  not  applicable  to  his  congregation,  and 
yet  he  himself  did  not  spare  his  people,  but  he  would  not  allow 
any  body  else  to  rebuke  them. 

Dr.  Diehl,  at  present  pastor  of  Frederick,  has  stated  some  in- 
teresting historical  facts  concerning  this  old  church  in  his  discourse 
upon  that  subject. 

He  edited  the  Lutheran  Intelligencer  for  five  years.  He  was 
proud  of  this  position,  and,  although  he  was  not  a  forcible  writer, 


100  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

yet  he  well  enough  met  the  wants  of  the  Church  in  that  day  of 
small  beginnings. 

NUMBER  OF  THE  COMMANDMENTS. 

Dr.  Schaeffer  once  asked  a  boy  in  his  catechetical  class,  "  How 
many  commandments  are  there?"  The  reply  was  "Seven?"  "No!" 
"Nine?"  "No!"  "Twelve?"  "  Not  right  yet !"  "Fifteen?" 
"  Worse  and  worse  !"  "  Twenty  ?"  "  Charley,"  said  the  minister, 
"  leave  the  class,  go  home,  and  do  not  return  until  you  can  bring 
me  the  correct  answer."  On  his  way  home  he  met  another  boy 
who  was  going  to  "  Catechism,"  and  he  asked  him  the  number  of 
commandments.  "  Why,  ten,  you  goose  !"  was  the  reply.  "  Well," 
said  the  inquirer,  *'  you  had  better  not  give  that  answer  to  Par- 
son S  ,  for  I  said   there  were  twenty,  and,  that   not   being 

enough,  he  drove  me  home  ;  so  look  out !" 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  101 


SECTION    III. 

There  was  still  another  class  of  men  who,  fifty  years  ago,  had 
stepped  into  the  arena,  some  of  whom  subsequently  distinguished 
themselves,  and  their  memory  is  still  precious.  A  few  of  them 
yet  survive,  but  it  is  of  those  who  have  departed  that  I  will  now 
specially  speak. 

CHARLES    p.    KRAUTH 

was  a  model  man  in  every  relation  of  life.  He  adorned  everv  po- 
sition he  ever  occupied.  He  was  freer  from  the  usual  faults  of 
men  than  any  man  I  ever  knew,  I  never  saw  him  excited  to 
anger  but  once,  and  then  the  provocation  was  intense.  He  was 
charged  with  duplicity,  and  he  met  the  unfounded  accusation  with 
a  most  withering  reply,  that  silenced  as  well  as  confounded  his 
opponent.  As  soon  as  he  had  uttered  his  words  of  honest  indig- 
nation, and  sent  the  accuser,  as  it  were,  reeling  to  his  seat,  he 
became  calm  again  as  usual  as  though  nothing  had  occurred  to 
provoke  him. 

I  became  acquainted  with  him  when  I  was  a  student,  and  from 
that  time  to  his  death,  more  than  thirty  years  afterwards,  we  were 
as  brothers,  although  he  was  some  years  my  senior.  On  a  visit  to 
him  in  my  student  years,  at  Martin.sburg,  where  he  was  then  pas- 
tor, he  insisted  upon  my  going  to  a  wedding  with  him,  and  to  my 
surprise  and  gratification  the  parents  of  the  bride  had  emigrated 
from  my  native  place,  where  they  had  known  our  family  and 
gratefully  spoke  of  my  father's  medical  services  to  their  parents 
years  before.  During  that  same  visit  I  accompanied  him  to  one 
of  his  country  churches,  where  he  had  a  class  of  catechumens.  I 
remained  reading  in  a  house  until  he  had  finished  his  work.  He 
was  a  widower  then,  and  his  son,  who  has  since  become  so  dis- 
tinguished,was  asmall  boy,  living  with  his  grandfather  at  Staunton. 

Mr.  K.  was  educated  as  a  physician,  and  attended  medical  lec- 
tures in  Baltimore,  but  he  never  practiced  his  profession.     He 
turned  his  attention  to  the  ministry,  of  which  he  was  a  brilliant 
7 


102  FIFTY    YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY, 

ornament.  He  was  a  most  industrious  reader  from  the  beginning, 
but  his  reading  was  miscellaneous.  He  had  at  that  time  no  large 
library  of  his  own,  and  Martinsburg  did  not  furnish  him  with  a 
choice  of  theological  books,  and  hence  he  read  every  thing  he 
could  lay  his  hands  on.  He  has  told  me  that  he  read  and  re- 
membered as  many  as  fifty  volumes  in  a  year,  and  his  reading 
was  thorough.  It  was  only  after  he  had  removed  to  Philadelphia, 
where  he  had  access  to  great  libraries,  that  he  confined  his  re- 
searches more  particularly  to  theology  and  languages.  His  inti- 
mate association  with  Dr.  Demme,  who  was  of  similar  tastes  and 
pursuits,  and  his  senior  in  years,  aided  and  encouraged  him  in  his 
studies.  The  result  was  that  he  became  a  first  class  linguist  and 
theologian.  These  severe  studies  were  continued  all  his  life  long, 
during  which  he  acquired  an  extensive  and  valuable  library. 

In  his  early  ministry  he  was  associate  editor  with  Dr.  D.  F. 
SchaefFer  of  the  Lutheran  Intelligencer,  but  in  the  course  of  a 
year  or  so  he  withdrew  from  that  position.  He  became  weary  of 
going  from  Martinsburg  to  Frederick  every  month,  to  aid  in  ma- 
king up  the  paper,  a  service  which  he  conceived  to  be  necessary 
under  the  circumstances. 

He  contributed  considerably  to  the  literature  of  our  Church,  as 
will  be  seen  from  the  Bibliotheca  Lutherana,  but  he  was  not  par- 
ticularly elegant  as  a  writer,  and  he  did  not  study  the  graces  of 
style.  He  had  too  much  to  say  to  care  about  saying  it  in  fine 
phraseology. 

He  was  exceedingly  simple  in  his  habits,  and  not  very  particu- 
lar about  his  dress  during  his  life  as  a  widower.  Every  body  ob- 
served the  change  after  he  married  the  second  time.  I  remember 
we  were  once  admiring  a  splendid  mansion  in  Staunton,  when  he 
remarked,  "It's  all  very  fine,  but  I  would  rather  live  in  my  plain 
house  in  Martinsburg  than  in  that  splendid  edifice." 

He  had  a  singular  habit  of  raising  his  hat  when  saluting  any 
person,  not  in  front,  as  other  men  do,  but  from  behind.  It  was 
there  his  hat  was  first  worn  out,  as  we  have  already  heard  that 
David  Schaetfer's  was  first  worn  out  before.  I  often  gently  rebuked 
him  for  this  singular  departure  from  universal  custom,  but  he 
never  changed  it. 

As  a  preacher  he  was  very  instructive,  but  his  voice  was  so 
weak  that  he  could  scarcely  fill  an  ordinary  sized  church  with  its 
volume. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  103 

I  never  knew  him  to  engage  in  any  game  such  as  backgammon, 
chess  or  chequers,  in  which  so  many  ministers  find  pleasant  recre- 
ation ;  nor  did  he  ever  go  on  excursions  of  pleasure,  and  I  doubt 
whether  he  knew  the  use  of  the  fishing  rod  or  the  gun,  at  least 
practically.     His  recreation  was  books  and  nothing  else. 

He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Theological  Seminary,  but 
he  little  thought  at  that  time  that  he  ever  would  be  a  professor 
in  it. 

His  whole  manner  was  remarkably  mild  and  tender;  his  voice, 
when  not  strained,  was  melodious ;  and  he  had  that  personal  magne- 
tism which  attracts  friends  and  keeps  them. 

As  a  teacher,  judging  from  the  little  I  saw  of  his  method,  I 
think  he  was  too  indulgent  towards  his  class;  he  told  them  what 
they  should  have  told  him — if  a  student  hesitated  for  a  moment 
in  his  reply,  the  professor  would  at  once  relieve  him  of  his  embar- 
rassment by  answering  the  question  himself.  Hence,  he  was  popu- 
lar as  a  Synodical  examiner — the  applicants  knew  that  he  would 
let  them  oflf  easily,  of  which  I  can  speak  from  experience,  for  he 
examined  me  ab  Winchester  in  1826,  just  fifty  years  ago. 

As  a  theologian  he  always  inclined  to  the  old  Lutheran  system, 
though  not  very  demonstratively.  He  was  not  a  controversialist, 
and  he  abhorred  strife.  He  gave  offence  to  some  Lutherans  of  a 
lower  school  by  his  sermon  preached  at  the  General  Synod  in 
Charleston,  in  which  he  assumed  higher  ground  than  was  usually 
maintained,  and  which,  if  fully  carried  out,  would  logically  lead 
to  old  Lutheranism.  He  once  said,  "  I  find  the  Lutheran  doctrine 
of  the  Sacraments  hard  to  accept  in  view  of  my  puritanic  train- 
ing, but  I  find  the  Scripture  passages  quoted  in  favor  of  them 
still  harder  to  get  oVer  and  explain  away,"  and  this  I  apprehend 
is  the  feeling  of  many  Avho  see  the  truth,  but  are  slow  to  make  a 
decided  and  public  demonstration  of  it. 

Dr.  Krauth  witnessed  the  first  day's  conflict  of  the  Union  and 
Rebel  armies  at  Gettysburg.  He  lived  in  the  Professor's  house, 
north  of  the  Seminary  ;  and  when  our  men  were  driven  from 
Seminary  Hill  and  the  rebels  took  possession.  Dr.  Krauth  and 
family  came  up  out  of  the  cellar,  whither  they  had  fled,  and  started 
for  the  town.  "  Stoj),"  said  the  rebel  officer,  "  I  will  allow  you  to 
leave  the  house  in  any  direction  except  towards  town."  They 
wandered  from  farm   to  farm,  finding   houses  and  barns  full  of 


104  FIFTY   YEAES    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

wounded  rebels,  and  they  finally  found  shelter  at  a  house  two 
miles  away.  They  remained  there  from  Wednesday  until  Satur- 
day afternoon,  when  the  enemy  had  retreated.  On  returning  they 
found  their  house  crowded  with  wounded  men,  the  bed  clothing 
torn  up  for  bandages,  the  plate  carried  off,  books  scattered,  fences 
torn  down,  and  all  around  a  scene  of  ruin. 

[The  following  glowing  tribute  to  the  memory  of  Dr.  Krauth 
is  from  the  classic  pen  of  Prof.  Stoever,  and  no  excuse  will  be 
necessary  for  dwelling  at  such  unusual  length  on  this  universal 
favorite  in  the  church  and  pre-eminently  beloved  man  :] 

A  character  so  near  perfection,  a  life  so  almost  blameless  as 
was  that  of  Charles  P.  Krauth  is  seldom  found.  He  was  one  of 
the  purest  and  best  men  that  ever  lived.  One  more  faithful  and 
affectionate,' more  devoted  to  high  and  noble  purposes,  better  in 
the  entire  combination  of  his  gifts  and  graces,  has  never  been 
given  to  the  Church.  He  w-ts  born  in  Montgomery  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, May  7th,  1797.  His  father  was  a  native  of  Germany, 
and  came  to  this  country,  as  a  young  man,  in  the  capacity  of  a 
school  teacher  and  a  church  organist.  His  mother  was  a  Penn- 
sylvanian.  They  lived  in  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  in  Baltimore, 
Maryland  ;  also,  for  many  years,  in  Virginia,  highly  respected  and 
enjoying  the  confidence  of  their  neighbors.  Of  his  early  life 
comparatively  little  is  known,  in  consequence  of  his  singular  and 
habitual  reticence  with  regard  to  himself.  He  was,  however,  con- 
sidered by  the  children,  cotemporary  with  him  at  school,  as  very 
precocious,  quick  in  his  apprehensions  and  successful  in  study. 
"We  thought  him,"  writes  Charles  A.  Morris,  of  York,  who  knew 
him  when  he  was  about  seven  or  eight  years  of  age,  "  very  far 
advanced  in  his  arithmetic,  but  we  boys  were  disposed  to  ascribe 
his  success  to  the  fact  of  his  having  a  father  who  was  a  teacher." 
He  seems  to  have  been,  from  a  youth,  of  an  inquiring  turn  of 
mind  and  fond  of  books.  His  natural  love  of  knowledge  led  him 
to  improve  his  opportunities  to  good  purpose,  so  that,  without  the 
advantages  of  a  collegiate  education,  he  attained  to  a  very  respect- 
able measure  of  intellectual  culture.  He  early  evinced  a  decided 
taste  for  linguistic  studies,  and,  in  the  prosecution  of  the  Latin, 
Greek  and  French,  won  for  himself  high  credit.  Having  selected 
medicine  as  his  profession,  he- commenced  its  study  when  about 
eighteen  years  of  age,  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Selden,  of  Nor- 
folk, Virginia,  and  subsequently  attended  a  course  of  lectures  in 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  105 

the  University  of  Miiryland.  But,  his  funds  having  become  ex- 
hausted, he  visited  Frederick,  Maryland,  with  the  view  of  procu- 
ring pecuniary  aid  from  an  uncle,  the  organist;  of  the  Lutheran 
Church,  or  of  negotiating  a  loan  for  the  completion  of  his  medi- 
cal studies. 

During  a  visit  to  Eev.  D.  F.  Schaeffer,  of  Frederick,  his  mind 
was  led  to  the  conclusion  that  the  ministiy  was  the  work  to  which 
God  had  called  him.  He  very  soon  commenced  his  theological 
studie.s  under  the  instructions  of  Eev.  Dr.  Schaeffer,  and,  at  every 
step  of  his  progress,  was  the  more  strongly  convinced  that  he  was 
acting  in  accordance  with  the  divine  will. 

Whilst  he  was  engaged  at  Frederick,  in  the  prosecution  of  his 
studies,  in  the  year  1818,  Rev.  Abraham  Reck,  of  Winchester,  Vir- 
ginia, who  w-as  in  feeble  heaUh,  wrote  to  Dr.  Schaeffer,  inquiring 
if  he  could  not  send  him  a  theological  student  to  aid  him  in  the 
discharge  of  his  laborious  duties.  In  compliance  with  his  re- 
quest, Dr.  Schaeffer  sent  young  Mr.  Krauth,  who  continued  his 
studies  under  the  direction  of  Pastor  Reck,  and  assisted  him  in 
preaching  the  gospel  and  performing  other  pastoral  labor.  He 
studied  under  Mr.  Reck  one  year,  and  the  testimony  of  his  pre- 
ceptor is  that,  "  He  showed  great  comprehension  of  mind,  and 
was  a  most  successful  student."  "  I  gather,"  writes  Rev.  T.  W. 
Dosh,  "  that,  at  this  time,  he  frequently  preached  in  the  Lutheran 
Church,  and  was  very  popular  with  the  people.  He  was  highly 
respected  for  hLs  uniform  piety  and  zeal." 

Mr.  Krauth  was  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel  by  the  Synod  of 
Pennsylvania,  at  its  meeting  in  Baltimore,  in  1819.  His  first  pas- 
toral charge  embraced  the  united  churches  of  Martinsburg  and 
Sheperdstown,  Virginia,  where  he  labored  for  several  years  most 
efficiently  and  successfully.  It  was  at  a  District  Conference,  held 
in  the  church  at  Martinsburg,  whilst  Mr.  Krauth  was  pastor,  that 
the  enterprise  of  a  Theological  Seminary,  in  connection  with  the 
General  vSynod,  originated,  and  the  first  funds  towards  the  object 
contributed.  He  was,  in  1826,  elected  a  member  of  its  first  Board 
of  Directors.  Dr.  Morris,  who,  after  his  licensure,  spent  some 
days  with  him  at  his  own  residence  in  Martinsburg,  thus  speaks 
of  him,  at  this  interesting  period  of  his  life  :  "  That  week's  inter- 
course was  to  me  of  great  importance,  as  a  young  man  of  one  and 
twentv.     His  conversation  was  so  instructive,  his  counsels  were  so 


106  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

wise,  liis  manners  so  gentle, -his  spirits  so  buoyant,  that  I  learned 
more  practical  wisdom  than  in  any  other  week  of  my  life,  and  the 
visit  begat  in  me  the  most  ardent  affection  for  him,  who  was  after- 
wards my  theological  counsellor,  my  life-long  associate  in  many  a 
good  work,  and  to  his  dying  day  my  most  cherished  friend." 
"  From  that  day,"  he  adds,  "  our  fraternal  alliance  was  consum- 
mated, and  amid  all  the  ecclesiastical  changes  of  the  last  thir- 
ty-five years,  the  sharp  theological  controversies,  the  personal 
estrangements,  the  doctrinal  developments,  the  varying  phases  of 
thought,  our  intimate  relations  have  not  been  interrupted  for  a 
single  hour.  '  In  1827  he  received  and  accepted  a  call  to  St.  Mat- 
thew's congregation,  recently  organized  in  Philadelphia. 

The  removal  of  Mr.  Krauth  to  Philadelpjhia,  in  1827,  marks  a 
new  epoch,  not  only  in  the  history  of  our  English  Lutheran  inter- 
ests in  that  city,  but  of  his  own  life.  Brought  into  new  associa- 
ations,  surrounded  by  active,  earnest,  living  men,  with  large 
libraries  at  his  command,  the  best  books  on  all  subjects  accessible, 
new  powers  seemed  to  be  awakened  within  him,  new  energies 
were  developed.  As  a  scholar,  a  theologian  and  a  preacher,  he 
rapidly  advanced,  and  made  a  deep  impression  upon  the  commu- 
nity. At  first  he  encountered  some  opposition  from  the  German 
Churches  in  the  prejudices  which  existed,  even  at  that  day,  against 
the  introduction  of  the  English  language  into  the  services  of  the 
sanctuary,  but  this  all  vanished  when  his  character  and  object 
were  better  understood.  AVith  the  German  ministers,  Drs.  Schaef- 
fer  and  Demme,  he  was  on  the  most  cordial  and  confidential  terms. 
His  relations  with  Dr.  Demme  were  of  the  most  intimate  charac- 
ter, and  continued  years  after  Dr.  Krauth  left  the  city.  "  Their 
temperaments,"  says  Dr.  Morris,  "were  wholly  diverse,  but  they 
harmonized  delightfully  in  literary  pursuits,  in  church  polity  and 
theological  doctrine.  Demme  had  the  highest  respect  for  our 
friend's  talents  and  eesthetic  taste,  and  he  held,  in  profound  es- 
teem, Demme's  genius  and  attainments.  Many  an  evening  it  was 
my  privilege  to  spend  in  their  company,  when  wit  and  anecdote, 
and  the  most  refined  glee  blended  harmoniously  with  profound 
philosophic  discussion,  and  the  spontaneous  outflow  of  the  richest 
learning  on  their  part.  Demme  knew  all  German  philosophy,  and 
Krauth,  all  literature."  Dr.  Demme's  influence,  at  this  time,  on 
his  character  and  studies,  was  most  favorable,  and  always  ac- 
knowledged.    He  ever  referred  to  him  with  veneration  and  affec- 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  107 

tion,  and  in  that  remarkable  production  delivered  by  him,  at  Ihe 
request  of  the  Directors  of  the  Theological  Seminary,  on  the  Ad- 
vantages of  a  Knowledge  of  the  German  Language,  he  expref-ses 
the  most  ardent  gratitude  to  his  benefactor,  who  had  excited  and 
aided  him  in  his  acquisitions  in  the  direction  of  German  litera- 
ture. Dr.  Krauth  remained  in  Philadelphia  six  years,  and,  during 
the  whole  period,  enjoyed  the  highest  reputation  as  a  pastor  and 
a  preacher,  gathering  around  him  a  large  and  devoted  congrega- 
tion, and  accomplishing  an  amount  of  good  that  can  scarcely  be 
estimated. 

In  the  year  1833,  when  Dr.  Hazelius  resigned  his  professorship 
in  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Gettysburg,  the  attention  of  the 
Board  of  Directors  was  at  once  turned  to  Mr.  Krauth  as  the  man 
best  qualified  for  the  position.  As  a  Hebradst  he  had  not  at  the 
time,  in  the  Church,  his  superior,  the  result  of  his  own  earnest, 
indefatigable  application.  He  was  unanimously  chosen  Professor 
of  Biblical  and  Oriental  Literature.  The  appointment  was  pop- 
ular, and  was  regarded  by  the  Church  generally  as  most  judicious. 
"  His  character  and  talents,"  said  the  Lutheran  Observer,  at  the 
time  edited  by  Dr.  Kurtz,  "  have  long  been  admired  by  his  nu- 
merous friends.  He  is  w'ell  known  as  ,a  gentleman  of  science,  of 
literature  and  of  piety.  He  possesses  great  facility  for  the  acqui- 
sition of  languages,  and  has,  for  several  years,  paid  particular  at- 
tention to  their  study."  But  it  was  agreed  that  part  of  his  time 
should  be  devoted  to  instruction  in  Pennsylvania  College,  with 
the  understanding  that  so  soon  as  the  proper  arrangements  could 
be  made  his  duties  should  be  entirely  confined  to  the  Theological 
Seminary. 

Professor  Krauth  was  unanimously  elected  President  of  Pennsyl- 
vania College  in  the  spring  of  1834.  The  United  States  Uazette, 
edited  by  the  Hon.  J.  R.  Chandler,  in  noticing  the  appointment, 
said,  "  Mr.  Krauth  is  known  as  a  sound  scholar,  who  ornaments 
j^iety  with  attainments  in  science  and  the  arts.  Under  his  super- 
vision, which  is  never  given  by  halves,  we  augur  w^ell  for  the  new 
college." 

The  duties  of  this  oflJice  he  faithfully  performed  for  nearly  sev- 
enteen years,  during  most  of  the  time  also  giving  instruction  in 
the  Theological  Seminary.  With  what  untiring  industry  he  la- 
bored, and  how  patiently  and  cheerfully  he  toiled,  year  after  year, 
for  the  temporal  and  spiritual  welfare  of  the  young  men  committed 


108  FIFTY    YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

to  hia  care,  only  a  few,  those  who  were  most  intimately  associated 
with  him  in  his  efforts,  know.  In  all  his  relations,  as  president 
of  the  college,  in  his  intercourse  with  the  students,  with  his  col- 
leagues and  the  public,  he  was  a  model  of  Christian  propriety  and 
prudence,  of  humility  and  conscientiousness,  of  purity  and  honor, 
whom  all  could  approach,  whom  none  could  I'eproach,  always 
ready  to  listen  and  advise,  considerate  and  kind,  yet  independent 
in  his  conclusions,  and  always  firm  and  uncompromising  when  a 
question  of  principle  was  involved.  A  more  judicious  man  in  his 
official  position,  more  delicate  in  his  feelings  and  discreet  in  his 
conduct,  could  nowhere  have  been  found.  He  brought  to  the 
consideration  of  every  practical  question,  not  only  the  rare  qual- 
ities of  his  intellect,  but  also  the  impartial  and  just  feelings  of  his 
heart.  The  history  of  the  College,  during  his  connection  with  it, 
furnishes  an  unerring  proof  of  his  fidelity  and  success  as  a  presi- 
ding officer.  The  College  graduated,  during  his  presidency,  one 
hundred  and  sixty-four  young  men,  and  of  these  one  hundred  and 
eight  devoted  themselves  to  the  ministry  of  reconciliation.  Du- 
ring this  period,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  there  were  brought 
under  the  inflKence  of  his  instructions  about  one  thousand  indi- 
viduals, many  of  whom  here  consecrated  themselves  to  the  Saviour 
and  commenced  their  Christian  life.  Influences,  during  these 
seventeen  years,  were  put  in  motion,  imparting  an  influence  to  the 
Church  which  is,  at  the  present  day,  moving  millions  of  hearts  to 
God. 

On  the  resignation  of  Dr.  Krauth  as  President  of  the  College, 
in  order  that  he  might  devote  his  exclusive  time  to  duties  in  the 
Theological  Seminary,  which  was  the  original  design  of  his  removal 
to  Gettysburg,  the  Board  of  Trustees,  in  a  unanimous  vote,  ex- 
pressed "  their  high  estimation  of  the  fidelity  with  which  he  had 
discharged  his  duties  during  his  long  connection  with  the  Institu- 
tion," and  their  gratification,  "  that,  by  his  continued  residence  in 
the  place,  he  could  still  aid  the  College  in  promoting  its  success, 
by  his  council  and  "co-operation." 

In  the  autumn  of  1850,  yet  in  the  vigor  of  manhood,  he  relin- 
quished, with  great  satisfaction,  the  anxious,  toilsome,  and  often 
ungrateful  work  of  the  College  Presidency,  for  the  more  quiet, 
congenial  and  pleasant  duties  of  theological  instruction.  Here  he 
was  in  his  element.  Here  he  enjoyed  repose.  Devoted  to  his 
books,  and  fond   of  research,  loved    and   revered  by    his  pupils, 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTUERAN    MINISTRY.  109 

he  was  happy  and  useful,  an  ornament  to  the  ])OPition,  and  a 
blessing  to  the  Church.  For  five  years,  during  liis  connection 
with  the  Seminary,  he,  also,  served  with  great  acceptance  as 
pastor  of  the  congregation,  with  which  the  Institutions  are  united. 
He  continued  his  duties  in  the  Theological  Seminary  until  the 
close  of  life,  delivering  his  last  lecture  to  the  Senior  Class  within 
ten  days  of  his  death,  the  subject,  by  a  singular  and  interesting 
coincidence,  being  the  Eesurrection.  He  died  May  30th,  1867, 
in  the  71st  year  of  his  age,  and  the  49th  of  his  ministry. ' 

Although  only  a  fortnight  before  he  passed  away,  just  after  the 
anniversary  of  his  birth  day,  he  remarked  to  us  that  he  had  now 
reached  his  "  three-score  years  and  ten,"  the  time  spoken  of  by 
the  Psalmist,  and  that  his  earthly  career  would  probably  soon 
terminate.  His  death  was,  nevertheless,  unexpected.  When  sum- 
moned to  his  dying  chamber,  although  so  fragile  in  body,  we  found 
his  mind  remarkably  clear  and  calm ;  he  was  scarcely  able  to 
speak,  yet  he  was  fully  conscious,  sustained  by  the  promises  of 
God's  word  and  cheered  by  the  faith  he  had  so  long  and  steadily 
professed.  When  we  remarked  that  God  was  good  to  him,  in  that 
his  mind  was  so  composed  and  tranquil.  "  I  am,"  he  said,  "very 
composed."  Observing  how  patient  he  was  in  his  occasional 
suffering,  we  added,  "  God  will  not  impose  upon  you  more  than 
you  can  bear — He  will  not  forsake  you  in  this  hour  of  trial," — 
the  prompt  reply  was,  "  His  promises  are,  Yea  and  Amen  !  "  His 
heart  was  full  of  Christian  love  towards  all  who  approached  him. 
It  was  a  great  privilege  to  behold  his  calm  serenity,  his  unfaltering 
confidence  in  the  Saviour,  his  trustfulness  and  humility,  his  per- 
fect peace  in  prospect  of  the  speedy  change  that  awaited  him. 
No  one  could  witness  the  occasion  without  having  his  faith 
strengthened,  his  hopes  confirmed,  his  affections  elevated.  The 
whole  scene  was  indeed  a  benediction.  To  Dr.  Brown,  who  in- 
quired on  taking  leave  of  him,  if  he  had  a  message  for  his  col- 
leagues and  the  students,  he  replied :  "  Tell  them  to  be  faithful, 
be  faithful  !  "  Dr.  Muhlenberg  having  made  an  allusion  to  the 
sting  of  death  and  the  victory  of  the  grave  being  taken  away,  he 
said,  after  some  interval :  "  Thanks  be  to  God,  who  giveth  us  the 
victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ!"  A  short  time  before 
his  departure,  whilst  devoted  friends  were  by  his  side  watching 
his  last  pulsations,  he  was  asked  by  the  Pastor  of  the  church, 
"  Whether  he  was  aware  that  his  earthly  troubles  were  nearly 


110  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHEEAN    MINISTRY. 

ended."  Answering  with  a  motion  of  the  head  in  the  affirmative, 
Dr.  Hay  inquired,  "And  how  do  you  now  feel  in  view  of  your 
approaching  end?"  "Calm!"  "Calm!"  he  distinctly  repeated. 
"Is  Jesus  still  precious  to  you?"  His  glazed  eye  resumed  its 
lustre  and  with  a  strong  effort  he  exclaimed,  "0  yes!"  When 
reference  was  made  to  the  fact  that  this  was  the  hallowed  day  on 
which  many  pious  Christians  were  commemorating  the  Ascension 
of  our  Lord,  and  that  he  too  was  about  to  rise  and  meet  his  glori- 
fied Refdeemer,  and  as  several  familiar  and  precious  passages  were 
repeated,  his  eye  kindled  with  an  expression  of  intense  interest  and 
grateful  satisfaction.  Although  he  had  lost  the  power  of  utter- 
ance, his  reason  remained  unclouded  till  the  last.  He  was  calm  to 
the  close.  The  spark  of  life  very  soon,  however,  ceased  glowing — 
the  good  man  had  gone  to  his  rest. 

As  the  intelligence  of  his  death  spread,  the  deepest  gloom  per- 
vaded the  community.  In  every  circle,  among  all  classes  and 
denominations,  his  name  was  mentioned  Avith  reverence,  with  the 
most  tender  affection.  Never  before  in  Gettysburg  was  there  so 
great  a  public  interest  felt  in  any  man's  departure ;  never  was 
there  a  death  so  universally  regretted,  so  sincerely  mourned.  All 
felt  that  one  of  the  excellent  of  the  earth  had  been  taken  away. 
"  Gladly  would  I  exchange  places  with  him,"  said  a  young  man  in 
the  bloom  of  life,  just  commencing  a  successful  business  career,  so 
high  an  estimate  did  he  j^lace  upon  the  Christian  character  of  this 
man  of  God.  "  If  there  be  one  place  nearer  the  throne  than 
another,  he  will  be  sure  to  occupy  it,"  Avas  the  remark  of  a  care- 
ful observer,  v/ho  had  long  enjoyed  his  confidence,  and  been 
brought  into  constant  contact  Avith  him.  His  funeral  Avas  numer- 
ously attended.  Places  of  business  were  closed,  ordinaiy  Avork 
was  suspended,  and  the  whole  population  came  out  to  testify  their 
profound  sorrow,  to  manifest  their  high  appreciation  of  his  ser- 
vices, and  to  pay  their  last  tribute  of  respect  to  the  lamented 
dead.  The  church  in  Avhich  for  upwards  of  thirty  years  he  had 
been  a  regular  and  devout  Avorshij^per,  Avas  heavily  draped  in 
mourning,  and  as  the  lifeless  form  of  the  partiarch  lay  in  front  of 
the  pulpit,  from  Avhich  he  had  so  often  delivered  God's  message 
to  attentive  audiences,  all  seemed  to  realize  the  solemnity,  of  the 
occasion.  The  services  conducted  by  various  ministers  Avere  most 
touching  and  impressive  and  calculated  to  inculcate  the  impor- 
tance of  holy  living,  as  the  only  means  of  attaining  a  calm  and 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  Ill 

peaceful  death.  The  music  chants  were  exquisitely  sweet  and  sad, 
yet  most  tender  and  comforting  to  the  soul.  His  associates  in  the 
Church  tenderly  carried  his  body  to  the  grave. 

The  death  of  such  a  man  as  Dr.  Krauth  is  no  subject  of  common 
sorrow.  Its  tidings  circulated,  in  a  note  of  sadness,  all  over  the 
Church.  "JUuKis  ilk  bonis  flehilis  occidit."  A  great  and  good 
man,"  says  the  Evmigelical  Lutheran,  "  has  been  taken  from  our 
midst,  and  though  we  bow  in  submission  to  the  will  of  Him  who 
has  called  him  away  from  the  scene  of  his  earthly  labors,  we  can- 
not but  feel  that  his  death,  to  the  Church,  is  more  than  an  ordinary 
affliction."  "  He  has  left  a  memory,"  says  the  Lutheran  and  Mis- 
sionary, "  which  will  be  precious  forever."  It  is  the  memory  of 
one  who  combined  the  highest  intellectual  powers  with  the  most 
childlike  piety,  in  whom  profound  learning  was  united  with  the 
deepest  humility,  who,  in  the  pulpit  and  with  the  pen,  in  the 
chair  of  the  theologian  and  in  domestic  life,  never  forgot  the  work 
to  which  he  had  been  sanctified,  and,  untiring  to  the  end,  fulfilled 
the  highest  vocation  given  to  man."  "  Honorable  in  his  bearing," 
says  the  Lutheran  Observer,  "  upright  in  all  his  intercourse  with 
men,  frank  in  the  expression  of  his  opinions,  firm  in  adhering  to 
what  he  deemed  to  be  right,  he  commanded  the  respect  and  con- 
fidence of  all  who  knew  him."  The  testimony  that  reaches  us 
from  different  sections  of  the  Church,  from  men  of  all  shades 
of  opinion,  from  those  who,  for  years,  were  associated  with  him 
in  labor,  is  all  of  the  same  interesting  character.  Dr.  Schmidt 
writes:  "  I  knew  him  intimately,  indeed,  but  with  the  feelings 
I  entertained  towards  him,  his  name  and  character  are  something 
so  sacred  that  I  almost  fear  to  speak  of  him.  He  was,  in  the 
strictest  sense  of  the  word,  a  Christian.  Whatever  other  quali- 
ties he  possessed,  they  were  thoroughly  pervaded,  modified  and 
controlled  by  the  spirit  of  our  holy  religion,  by  consistent,  practi- 
cal Christianity.  For  me  his  character  possessed  attractions  per- 
fectly irresistible,  and  I  loved  him  with  an  intensity  that  beggars 
description.  Bitterly  do  I  mourn  his  unexpected  departure  from 
among  us."  Dr.  Reynolds  says:  "During  the  many  years  we 
have  spent  together,  I  do  not  now  recall  a  single  word  of  harsh- 
ness or  unkindness,  a  single  act  that  was  not  that  of  a  gentleman 
and  a  Christian.  I  seldom  think  of  him  otherwise  than  as  one 
of  the  best  and  purest,  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  learned  and 
eminently  adapted   to  those   posts  of  honor   and   responsibility 


112  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

which  he  so  long  occupied  with  no  less  honor  to  himself  than 
profit  to  the  numerous  classes,  both  of  the  young  and  the  old, 
whom  he  alike  instructed  and  edified  in  the  sacred  desk  and  the 
Professor's  chair."  "  My  earliest  and  most  pleasant  recollections 
in  the  ministry,"  writes  Dr.  Lochman,  "  are  associated  with  Dr. 
Krauth.  Acquainted  with  him  from  my  youth,  I  ever  found  him, 
in  conversation,  interesting  and  instructive;  in  the  pulpit,  earnest 
and  devoted,  and  in  his  calling  as  Professor,  faithful  and  dili- 
gent." "I  have  never  thought  of  him,"  writes  Rev.  D.  M.  Gil- 
bert, "  except  with  an  affection,  mingled  with  respect,  that  amounts 
to  veneration.  His  purity  of  heart,  the  tender  kindness  of  his 
whole  nature,  his  leniency  towards  the  infirmities  of  others,  his 
pleasant  familiarity,  tempered  by  a  true  Christian  dignity,  can 
never  be  forgotten.  I  have  been  trying  to  think  over  my  past 
life,  especially  the  six  years  spent  under  his  roof,  and  I  can  hon- 
estly say  that  I  have  not  one  recollection  of  him  that  is  not  pleas- 
ant." "I  have,"  says  Rev.  0.  A.  Kinsolving,  of  the  Episcopal 
Church,  "  a  most  tender  recollection  of  his  earnest  piety,  his  accu- 
rate knowledge,  his  genial  good  nature  and  simple,  affectionate 
manners.     In  days  gone  by  I  knew  and  loved  him  dearly." 

His  mind  was  of  the  highest  order,  capacious,  powerful  in  its 
grasp  of  subjects,  active  and  discriminating.  His  analytic  and 
reflective  faculties  were  largely  develojDed  and  strengthened  by 
varied  reading  and  diligent  study.  His  perceptions  were  remark- 
ably accurate  and  penetrating,  so  that  whenever  he  undertook  to 
investigate  a  question  he  was  sure  to  attain  the  clearest  ideas  of 
it  which  its  nature  admitted.  His  mind  was  distinguished  for  the 
harmonious  blending  of  all  its  powers.  He  was  a  man  of  mature, 
independent,  sound  judgment.  He  early  acquired  a  love  of  re- 
search, a  habit  of  thinking  for  himself,  and  his  opinions  were 
always  formed  with  a  deliberation,  and  in  view  of  all  the  evidence 
he  possessed.  He  was,  also,  gifted  with  a  singularly  retentive 
memory,  in  which  were  carefully  treasured  the  results  of  his  study 
and  observation.  He  seemed  to  remember  everything  he  ever 
heard,  and  often  surprised  his  friends  by  the  minute  exactness  of 
his  knowledge.  His  attainments  were  much  more  extensive  and 
varied,  his  erudition  richer  and  more  thorough  than  man}^  per- 
sons imagined.  He  was  a  universal  scholar,  large-minded  in  his 
views,  a  man  of  the  highest  literary  culture.  He  was  acquainted 
with  the  best  productions  in  the  English  language.     The  mathe- 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY,  113 

matics  he  read  as  another  would  an  ordinary  book.  Asa  linguist 
he  took  the  highest  rank.  The  Sacred  Scriptures  lie  daily  studied 
in  the  original.  His  intimacy  with  the  Latin  and  Greek  classics, 
which  he  read  with  almost  the  same  facility  as  his  vernacular,  was 
maintained  by  frequent  perusals  to  the  close  of  life,  and  for  the 
modern  idea  that  would,  in  a  course  of  liberal  education,  reject 
the  study  of  these  ancient  authors,  he  entertained  the  most  pro- 
found contempt.  His  knowledge  of  German  literature  and  Ger- 
man theology  was  so  general  and  thorough  that  a  stranger  would 
have  supposed  he  had  been  educated  at  some  German  University. 
So  conversant  was  he  with  the  principles  of  Law  and  Medicine, 
so  exuberant  his  information,  that  upon  one  unacquainted  with 
his  antecedents  the  impression  was  often  produced  that  these  sub- 
jects had  been  the  exclusive  studies  of  his  life.  He  loved  learning 
for  its  own  sake.  It  was  an  absorbing  passion,  and  he  was  never 
happier  than  when  in  his  library  among  his  treasured  lore,  or 
when  discoursing  with  friends  on  his  favorite  topics.  But,  not- 
wnthstanding  his  acquisitions  were  so  vast,  and  his  resources  so 
ample,  his  sense  of  propriety  and  sesthetic  culture  never  allowed 
him  to  make  a  display  of  his  knowledge.  No  trace  of  pedantry 
tinged  his  intercourse  with  others.  "All  sciolistic  demonstra- 
tion," says  Dr.  Morris,  "  was  his  abhorrence,  and  all  pompous 
show,  in  the  pulpit  especially,  was  the  object  of  his  implacable 
disgust."  A  more  unostentatious  man,  more  modest  and  unas- 
suming, never  lived.  This  characteristic  impressed  itself  upon 
everything  he  said  and  did,  in  public  and  private. 

The  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  was,  by  a  unanimous 
vote,  conferred  upon  him  by  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
in  1837. 

In  the  pulpit  Dr.  Krauth  was  pre-eminent.  It  was  the  place 
where  he  loved  to  labor,  where  he  especially  excelled  and  Avielded 
his  great  power.  If  he  would  have  devoted  himself  entirely  to 
the  work,  he  would  scarcely  have  had  a  rival  in  the  country. 
Dr.  Bittinger  says :  "  Of  his  fluency  in  conversation,  the  lecture 
room,  the  pulpit — in  the  last  rising  to  true  Ciceronian  eloquence 
— (and  his  face  bore  a  striking  resemblance  to  the  great  Roman 
orator,  as  witness  the  medals),  it  had  to  be  heard  and  be  compared 
with  the  stammerings  and  bogglings  of  other  public  and  private 
talkers  to  be  appreciated.  Nor  was  it  confined  to  his  language 
only,  his  ideas  were  liquid.     It  seemed  to  make  no  difi'erence  what 


114  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

the  topic  was — Natural  Theology,  Metaphysics,  Medicine,  Chem- 
istry or  Anatomy."  He  had  large  intellectual  resources  from 
which  to  draw,  and  he  would  summon  them  to  his  aid  as  circum- 
stances required.  He  always  spoke  to  the  purpose,  never  intro- 
ducing anything  irrelevant  to  the  subject,  or  calculated  to  destroy 
its  effect.  His  sermons  were  lucid,  instructive  and  effective. 
There  was,  however,  an  inequality  in  his  preaching,  not  so  much 
in  the  matter  presented  as  in  the  impression  made.  More  than 
once  he  was  heard  to  say  that  some  of  his  more  elaborate  efforts 
were  often  received  with  less  favor  than  a  discourse  preached 
from  a  text  selected  after  he  had  entered  the  pulpit. 

He  was  so  full  on  every  subject  and  so  ready  to  communicate, 
that  even  when  his  preaching  seemed  to  be  extemporaneous  it  was 
not  so ;  the  matter  had,  perhaps,  been  carefully  studied  and  laid 
on  the  shelf,  as  Cecil  says,  for  future  use,  whenever  demanded. 
He  was  often  greatest  as  a  speaker  when  called  on  without  appar- 
ent premeditation  to  meet  some  special  occasion.  He  was  very 
much  influenced  by  the  inspiration  of  the  hour  or  the  state  of  his 
feelings.  Dr.  Morris  refers  to  an  interesting  scene,  which  occur- 
red ten  years  ago,  in  the  Maryland  Institute,  whither  he  had 
accompanied  him  to  a  prayer-meeting,  and  where  there  were  assem- 
bled not  less  than  two  thousand  persons.  The  Doctor  was,  unex- 
pectedly to  himself,  requested  to  speak  ;  he,  however,  promptly 
responded  to  the  invitation,  and  delivered,  it  is  said,  "  one  of  the 
most  ijhrilling  and  impressive  addresses  ever  heard.  The  crowd, 
the  place,  the  occasion,  roused  his  inmost  soul ;  the  fire  flashed  in 
his  eve,  and  the  effect  was  powerful."  When  he  had  concluded 
the  address,  a  Methodist  clergyman  arose  and,  with  tearful  eyes, 
praised  God  that,  for  the  first  time  in  thirty  years,  he,  that  day, 
was  permitted  to  see  the  man  who  taught  him  the  way  of  life  and 
led  his  wandering  feet  to  the  cross  of  Christ.  In  prayer  the  Doc- 
tor was  exceedingly  happy.  There  was  so  much  simplicity  in  his 
manner,  so  much  humility  and  reverence,  that  you  could  not  resist 
the  impression  he  was  speaking  directly  to  the  ear  of  mercy.  One 
occasion  we  particularly  remember.  In  the  winter  of  1837,  when 
two,  connected  with  him  by  the  most  tender  ties,  were  under  deep 
exercise  of  mind  in  reference  to  their  spiritual  interests,  and  he 
was  called  to  lead  the  devotions  of  the  great  congregation  ;  as 
with  his  Avarm,  out-gushing  heart,  touched  by  the  grateful  fact, 
he  thanked  his  Father  in  heaven  "  that  bone  .of  his  bone  and  flesh 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  115 

of  his  flesh  had  been  reached  by  the  influence  of  the  Spirit,"  the 
effect  was  thrilling.  Many  there  are  who  will  never  forget  that 
prayer,  the  impressions  of  that  solemn  hour.  A  gifted  young 
man,  a  member  of  the  Senior  Class  in  College,  reared  in  another 
Church,  and,  until  that  time,  careless  in  relation  to  the  salvation 
of  his  soul,  was  so  completely  overpowered  that  he  shrieked  out 
for  mercy.  That  individual  is  now  a  prominent  lawyer  in  the 
State,  and  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Towards  the 
close  of  his  life,  however,  he  sometimes  expressed  regret  that  he 
had  not,  to  greater  extent,  made  use  of  this  medium  for  doing 
good.  The  contributions  of  his  pen*  were  always  received  with 
favor  and  read  with  deference.  "  His  Oration  on  the  Study  of 
the  German,"  says  Dr.  Morris,  "  gave  a  fresh  impulse  to  the  study 
of  that  language  among  many  of  our  young  men,  and  to  other 
students  of  literature  in  the  country."  His  inaugural  address, 
found  among  some  old  pamphlets  in  a  country  barn,  arrested  the 
attention  of  a  young  man,  who  gave  his  father  no  peace  till  he 
secured  his  consent  to  enter  Pennsylvania  College.  He  was  grad- 
uated in  1844,  and  has  since  occupied  prominent  positions  in  the 
Church,  and  is  most  favorably  known  as  a  writer  and  preacher. 

Dr.  Schmidt  observes:  "His  course  was  eminently  irenic,  but 
never  at  the  expense  of  truth  or  principle.  Honestly  conservative 
and  moderate  in  his  views,  he  was  ju.st  to  all,  and  could  meet  and 
treat  all  who  differed  from  him  as  brethren,  even  though  they 
stood  at  opposite  extremes."  How  often  have  we  heard  him  say  : 
"Uniformity  of  faith  is  attended  with  great  difficulty.  Let  us 
cultivate  peace,  let  us  endeavor  to  be  united  and  seek  to  do  each 
other  good.  Let  us  endeavor  to  difiuse  a  spirit  of  concord  and 
peace  and  God  will  bless  us." 

He  studied  the  Scriptures  constantly,  earnestly,  not  merely  as 
a  source  of  theological  knowledge,  but  as  a  means  of  spiritual 
culture.  Under  this  influence  his  opinions  were  moulded,  his  spir- 
itual Jife  was  matured.  He  loved  the  Lutheran  Church.  "  As 
we  grow  older,"  he  said,  "  we  love  it  more,  and  whilst  we  sorrow 
for  the  recreancy  of  any  of  her  sons,  are  horror-stricken  when 
they  treat  her  with  disrespect,  and  we  cling  to  her  with  increasing 
afiection.  She  has  been  a  good  mother  to  us,  and  if  within  her 
walls  we  have  been  lean,  it  is  our  own  fault.  We  expect  to  die 
in  her  service  and  honoring  her  virtues.  Many  have  done  excel- 
lently, but,  in  our  eyes  she  excelleth  them  all." 

*  See  a  list  of  his  writings  in  Bibliothoca  Luthcrana. 


116  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

In  his  official  discourse  as  President  of  the  General  Synod, 
delivered  in  Charleston  in  1850,  he  says :  "  The  desire  for  the 
Symbols  of  our  Church,  the  attention  that  is  paid  to  them,  the 
admiration  that  is  expressed  for  them,  the  candor  with  which  they 
are  viewed,  the  expressed  willingness,  on  the  part  of  many,  only 
to  dissent  when  it  cannot  be  avoided,  all  indicate  a  new  state  of 
things,  and  are  adapted  to  produce  the  conviction  that  the  Church 
is  disposed  to  renew  her  connection  with  the  past,  and  in  her  future 
progress  to  walk  under  the  guidance  of  the  light  which  it  has 
furnished."  He  was  the  warm  friend  of  the  General  Synod. 
"  His  views  in  regard  to  the  doctrines  and  cultus  of  the  Church," 
says  Dr.  Lochman,  "  were  always  in  perfect  harmony  with  its  po- 
sition." He  thought  upon  its  basis,  to  use  his  own  language,  "  the 
elements,  somewhat  discordant,  of  our  Lutheran  Zion  could  be 
held  together."  "Fidelity,"  he  adds,  "to  the  principle  of  the 
General  Synod,  is  the  only  guarantee  of  a  peaceful  and  prosperous 
Church."  "  The  great  question  for  our  Church  in  this  country  is, 
can  it  be  a  unit,  bound  together  in  a  common  bond  ?  li  for  unity, 
absolute  agreement  in  all  the  minutise  of  Christian  doctrine,  gov- 
ernment and  ceremonies,  is  necessary,  it  is  certain  that  it  is  not 
possible.  But  if  substantial  agreement  in  faith  and  practice  is 
regarded  as  sufficient  there  can  be  no  great  difficulty.  In  most  of 
our  large  denominations  of  Christians  there  is  more  or  less  diver- 
sity of  opinion  on  doctrinal  points."  "If  the  Symbolism  of  any 
in  the  General  Synod  be  so  intense  that  they  cannot  tolerate  those 
who  differ  from  them,  they  can  go  to  Missouri,  to  Buitalo,  to  Iowa, 
to  Columbus.  It  is  what  we  under  similar  circumstances  would 
do  ourselves — no  disrespect  is  meant.  If  there  are  those  whose 
antipathy  to  the  Symbols  is  so  great  that  they  cannot  endure  those 
who  venerate  and  ex  animo  subscribe  them,  they  should  look  for 
some  more  congenial  home.  They  have  no  right  to  say  to  the  strict 
Symbolist,  your  position  is  unlutheran,  your  views  are  destitute  of 
vital  piety,  you  occupy  untenable  ground,  you  ought  to  be  ia  some 
other  Church.  Mutual  toleration  is  the  correct  principle.  If  this 
cannot  be  exercised,  then  let  there  be  a  peaceful  separation  and 
those  unite  who  think  alike  and  are  prepared  to  act  in  perfect 
harmony.  *  *  *  AVe  have  no  hesitation  in  affirming,  that  har- 
mony is  compatible  Avith  considerable  diversity  of  opinion.  Some 
concession  in  non-fundamental  matters  and  forms  of  worship  and 
a  2^1'oper  comparison  of  views  on  doctrinal  differences  would  con- 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTUERAN    MINISTRY.  117 

tribute  much  to  smooth  movement  and  peaceful  progression."  He 
thought  there  was  no  excuse  for  "  the  heated  strife,"  "  the  narrow 
bigoted  spirit,"  "  the  condemnatory  language,"  "the  misrepresen- 
tation of  views,"  "the  wretched  caricature,"  so  often  exhibited 
among  members  of  the  same  Christian  household.  If  we  could 
not  labor  harmoniously  together,  then  he  deemed  "  separation  nec- 
essary and  profitable ;  in  the  end  it  might  be  conducive  to  the 
glory  of  God."  His  views  were  eminently  conservative.  He  did 
not  object  to  the  use  of  the  word.  "The  true  position  of  the 
Lutheran  Church,"  he  says,  "  is  conservative.  It  should  hold  fast 
the  form  of  sound  words  it  has  received  and  display  its  doctrinal 
and  ritual  moderation.  Occupying  a  middle  position  between  pre- 
latical  Episcopacy  and  ^ure  divino  Congregationalism ;  extreme 
neither  in  one  direction  nor  the  other;  conceding  to  utility  all 
that  it  can  ask  without  detriment  to  order,  avoiding  in  doctrine 
the  errors  of  Calvinism  and  those  of  low  Arminianism  and  Pela- 
gianism ;  repudiating  a  mere  animal  religion,  while  it  shows  no 
countenance  to  a  morality,  cold  and  religionless — these,  its  true 
position,  its  very  essence  and  form,  adapt  it  to  exert  an  influence 
favorable  to  doctrinal  soundness  and  religious  purity.  We  do  not 
claim  for  it  too  much  when  we  ascribe  to  it  a  capacity  to  uphold 
a  true,  living  system  of  Christianity,  when  we  regard  it  as  adapted 
to  exert  an  influence  opposed  to  extremes  in  the  one  direction  or 
the  other. 

Dr.  Krauth  was  a  man  of  very  attractive  personal  qualities. 
He  was  a  model  of  integrity  and  propriety  of  the  duties  and 
graces  he  inculcated.  In  his  daily  walk,  in  his  social  relations, 
in  the  class  room,  the  sanctuary  and  the  pulpit,  was  seen  the  beau- 
tiful harmony  between  his  teachings  and  his  life.  He  was  consti- 
tuted with  a  large  share  of  benevolent  feeling.  It  shone  in  his 
countenance,  it  breathed  from  his  lips,  it  found  expression  in  his 
kind  manners,  it  pervaded  his  whole  nature.  He  cherished  no 
resentments.  His  utter  unselfishness  ever  prompted  him  to  for- 
get himself  when  there  were  opportunities  ofi'ered  of  doing  good. 
"  His  zeal  involved  no  element  of  self."  He  seemed  unconscious 
of  his  own  interests.  He  was  always  ready  to  make  sacrifices, 
and  to  confer  favors  with  a  cheerfulness  and  self-abnegation  rarely 
equalled.  Although  so  kind  and  sympathetic  in  his  nature,  and 
so  observant  of  the  proprieties  of  life,  he  still  had  a  strong  sense 
of  right  and  wrong,  and  when  he  was  deeply  impressed  with  the 


118  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

idea  of  evil-doing  he  knew  how  to  give  utterances  to  his  feelings 
in  solemn  and  indignant  rebuke.  Honor  with  him  was  a  cardinal 
virtue.  He  abhorred  meanness.  He  despised  duplicity.  His 
devotion  to  principle  was  a  most  prominent  trait  in  his  character. 
We  never  heard  him  charged,  even  in  a  whisper,  with  any  unwor- 
thy conduct,  with  an  attempt  to  accomplish  a  purpose  by  a  cir- 
cuitous route,  or  an  equivocal  course,  with  seeming  to  be  intent 
on  the  attainment  of  one  end,  whilst  his  efforts  were  really  di- 
rected to  another.  From  all  such  manifestations  his  purity  re- 
volted. "In  him,"  says  Dr.  Schmidt,  "there  was  no  seeming,  no 
hollow  pretence,  not  a  particle  of  sham.  Whatever  personal  pe- 
culiarities he  had  they  were  rooted  in  a  sincerity  so  decided  and 
transparent  that  distrust  and  suspicion  in  the  minds  of  any  who 
approached  him  were  instantly  disarmed,  and  confidence,  un- 
bounded, claimed  and  won.  It  was  the  fundamental  property  of 
a  crystalline  sincerity,  which  combined  with  the  warm  impulses 
of  a  generous  and  loving  heart,  made  him  so  inestimable  a  friend." 
"Such,"  says  Dr.  Morris,  "was  my  perfect  confidence  in  the  in- 
tegrity of  his  character,  the  sincerity  of  his  motives  and  the 
soundness  of  his  judgment,  that  I  would  have  taken  it  for  granted, 
without  ever  knowing  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  that  any 
one  who  had  a  quarrel  Avith  him  was  in  the  wrong."  His  love 
of  justice  and  truth,  of  candor  and  fair  dealing,  and  his  hatred 
of  injustice  and  falsehood,  of  deceit  and  fraud,  were  always  mani- 
fest. His  private  life  was  without  rejDroach.  No  shadow  of  sus- 
picion rested  upon  it,  No  spot  was  left  upon  the  perfect  enamel 
of  his  character.  Even  malice  could  not  stain  its  whiteness.  He 
was  a  most  instructive  and  genial  companion.  Although  to  stran- 
gers somewhat  reserved,  when  in  the  society  of  intimate  friends 
.he  would  pour  forth  his  stores  of  wisdom,  kind  feeling,  apposite 
anecdote,  rich  illustration  and  quick  repartee.  "  In  an  eminent 
■  degree  he  possessed  that  humor,"  says  Dr.  Schmidt,  "  which,  never 
.running  into  sarcasm,  or  ever  indulging  in  ill-natured  insinuation 
or  offensive  remark,  '  illumines  the  feast  of  reason  and  the  flow  of 
.soul'  with  unexpected  sallies  of  pleasantry,  and  provokes  the 
hearty  laugh  with  witty  sayings  and  Socratic  questionings."  There 
"was  nothing  illiberal  in  his  character  or  uncharitable  in  his  tem- 
per ;  no  affectation  of  austere  rigor  in  his  life,  no  narrowness  of 
party  or  sect — "he  knew  no  tinge  of  bigot  bitterness." 

But  the  secret  of  his  attractive  qualities,  his  beautiful  life  and 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  119 

eminent  usefulness,  lay  in  the  depths  of  his  religious  convictions, 
in  the  power  of  the  gospel  to  transform  and  exalt  character,  in 
his  consistent,  uniform  and  all  pervading  piety.  Mind,  heart  and 
religious  feeling  were  in  unison.  His  whole  life,  since  his  first 
espousal  of  the  cause  of  Christ,  had  been  an  uninterrupted  course 
of  devotion  to  its  interests.  Trained  in  daily  duty,  religion  be- 
came the  ascendant  power  of  his  soul.  It  was  not  a  mere  abstrac- 
tion or  a  dogma,  but  a  life  nourished  from  an  inward  supply,  and 
not  by  superficial,  transitory  causes.  It  had  acquired  the  power 
of  a  habit  and  the  force  of  a  regulating  principle.  It  pervaded 
his  whole  character.  It  was  carried  by  him  into  every  position, 
and  his  very  presence  was  felt  as  an  atmosphere  of  holiness  and  a 
rebuke  to  sin.  In  his  conversation,  in  social  communion,  in  casual 
and  uninterrupted  intercourse,  he  appeared  the  deeply  spiritual 
and  devoted  man  of  God,  in  the  habitual  exercise  of  a  living 
faith,  an  example  of  Christian  piety  and  excellence,  fruitful  in 
good  works,  which  it  was  refreshing  to  behold.  To  his  mind 
there  was  nothing  gloomy  connected  with  the  subject  of  religion. 
It  hrd  no  dark  side.  It  was  associated  w^itli  all  that  was  designed 
to  invigorate  the  intellect,  elevate  the  afFections  and  brighten  life, 
to  make  the  soul  glad,  and  enable  it  to  look  with  strong  hope  on 
all  the  events  of  this  chequered  life. 


CHARLES   R.    DEMME,    OF   PHILADELPHIA. 

Dr.  Demme  would  have  had  a  reputation  as  a  pulpit  orator  equal 
that  of  any  man  in  the  country,  if  he  had  been  a  preacher  in 
English.  He  had  extraordinary  gifts  as  a  speaker,  and  then  his 
matter  was  on  a  level  with  his  manner ;  for  he  conscientiously 
studied  and  wrote  out  most  of  his  sermons  in  full,  and  diligently 
studied  the  best  models.  He  was  far  from  being  a  handsome  man, 
but,  when  in  the  full  glow  of  excitement,  his  countenance  was 
lighted  up  radiantly,  and  his  strong  features  assumed  a  most  pleas- 
ing appearance.  His  eyes  flashed  while  he  poured  forth  burning 
words,  and  the  mere  man  seemed  to  be  lost  in  the  intense  feeling 
of  his  heart.  His  theme  absorbed  him  so  completely  that  he  saw 
nobody  and  heard  nothing  but  his  own  sonorous  voice  as  it  rolled 


120  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

through  the  arches  of  the  church  and  fell  in  impressive  peals  upon 
the  ears  of  his  audience. 

His  few  published  sermons  are  fine  specimens  of  classic  German 
writing  and  crammed  with  the  soundest  theology,  but  it  was  neces- 
sary to  hear  the  man  to  appreciate  his  wonderful  pulpit  ability. 

I  have  heard  him  preach  on  a  hot  summer  day,  and  to  a  com- 
paratively thin  audience,  with  the  same  fervor  as  he  would  have 
done  to  a  multitude,  and  he  afterwards  observed  that  he  did  not 
wonder  that  people  would  not  corne  to  church  in  such  intensely 
warm  weather. 

He  was  a  thoroughly  educated  man,  and  perfectly  at  home  in 
the  modern  theology  of  the  Church. 

He  enjoyed  the  high  distinction  of  being  a  member  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society,  and  was  created  a  Doctor  of  Di- 
vinity by  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  in  1832. 

He  bore  in  one  cheek  the  mark  of  a  sabre  stroke  he  received,  in 
the  battle  of  Waterloo.  He,  with  many  other  young  Germans,  vol- 
unteered to  repel  the  invasion  of  Napoleon,  and  at  Waterloo  he 
was  carried  wounded  and  bleeding  from  the  field.  Intimate  as  I 
was  with  him  for  some  years,  yet  he  never  alluded  to  his  youthful 
military  adventures.  Indeed  he  seldom  spoke  of  himself  in  any 
relation. 

He  was  not  friendly  to  the  General  Synod,  more,  I  think,  from 
personal  feelings  than  peculiar  views  of  church  policy,  and  still 
the  directors  of  the  Theological  Seminary  of  the  General  Synod 
elected  him  professor  in  1840,  which  he,  however,  declined  after 
a  long  and  painful  struggle.  I  well  remember  how  he  came  to  Bal- 
timore to  have  a  midnight  conversation  with  me  upon  the  subject. 
Strenuously  as  I  advocated  his  election,  yet  I  candidly  told  him 
the  difficulties  he  would  encounter  on  the  ground  of  social  rela- 
tions in  Gettysburg,  and  of  associations  with  men  who  were  dif- 
ferently trained  and  held  intense  American  views  of  theology 
and  church  policy.  I  knew  that  he  did  not  hold  a  few  men  in 
high  personal  esteem  with  whom  he  would  have  been  closely  con- 
nected. 

He  was  greatly  respected  by  the  cultivated  j)eople  of  Philadel- 
phia, and  zealously  co-operated  with  other  .denominations  in  the 
furtherance  of  benevolent  enterprises  and  of  the  interests  of 
education.  He  unsparingly  denounced  duplicity  and  every  spe- 
cies of  meanness,  especially  in  ministers  ;  but  to  honest  men,  what- 


FIFTY    YEARS    IX    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  121 

ever  might  be  their  convictions,  and  however  they  differed  from 
his,  he  was  courteous  and  forbearing. 

He  was  a  powerful  debater  on  the  floor  of  the  Synod,  and  often 
had  strong  opponents.  He  wielded  great  influence,  but  never  as- 
pired to  the  place  of  demagogue,  or  even  to  the  less  objectionable 
honors  of  a  part\^  leader. 

He  was  a  man  of  strong  impulses,  and  when  excited  he  was 
impatient  of  contradiction,  unless  he  was  very  politely  opposed; 
then  he  was  kind  and  even  gentle.  Whilst  distantly  respectful 
to  those  whom  he  did  not  esteem,  or  whose  sincerity  he  suspected, 
he  never  led  them  to  believe  by  W'Ord  or  action  that  he  had  any 
regard  for  them.  He  would  j^raise  modest  merit  discreetly,  but 
he  never  flattered  the  charlatan,  nor,  for  a  moment,  gave  place  to 
the  insincere  and  presumptuous.  Like  other  great  preachers  he 
had  his  imitators,  but  none  came  up  to  the  grand  original. 

The  last  time  I  saw  Dr.  Demme  was  at  the  Synod  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, in  Harrisburg,  about  the  year  1857.  He  had  already  begun 
to  fail,  and  he  spoke  freely  of  it.  It  seemed  to  mortify  him  that 
he  called  things  by  wrong  names,  and  he  gave  some  instances  of 
it.  Like  a  strong  forest  tree  he  began  to  fail  at  the  top.  That 
active  brain  was  smitten,  and  part  after  part  gave  way,  until  he 
fell  prostrate  among  the  oaks  that  surrounded  him. 

Among  his  many  other  personal  accomplishments,  he  was  a 
thorough  musician  and  splendid  performer  on  the  piano.  He 
played  with  the  skill  of  a  master,  and  read  the  most  difficult  score 
at  sight.  I  have  put  his  facility  in  reading  music  to  the  test  in 
my  own  parlor,  and  we  were  all  re-organized  at  the  almost  fault- 
less accuracy  of  his  performance,  and  yet  he  would  say,  "  It's  not 
very  hard."  See  an  extensive  biographical  sketch  by  Prof.  Stoe- 
ver  in  Ev.  Eev.,  July,  1864. 


SAMUEL    S.  SCHMUCKER 

filled  a  larger  space  in  the  public  eye  outside  of  the  Lutheran 
Church,  than  any  other  man  in  it.  He  was  one  of  the  original 
founders  of  the  Theological  Seminary  and  its  first  professor.  His 
translation  of  Storr  and  Flatt's  Theology  brought  him  into  exten- 
sive notice  with  the  theological  public,  and  his  frequent  journeys 


122  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

to  the  Eastern  States  and  his  extensive  corresjDondence  with  some 
of  their  learned  men  made  him  widely  known. 

He  shaped  and  moulded  the  theological  thought  of  most  of  the 
young  men  of  the  General  Synod,  which,  unfortunately,  I  think, 
was  not  in  strict  accordance  with  the  old  Lutheran  model.  Like 
most  professors  of  a  peculiar  system,  some  of  his  pupils  went  far 
ahead  of  him  in  one  direction  and  became  the  advocates  of  the 
lowest  Zwinglianism,  whilst  in  others  a  reaction  was  created,  and 
to  his  surprise  and  regret  they  became  Old  Lutherans. 

Dr.  Schmucker  was  an  organizer  and  wrote  nearly  all  the  con- 
stitutions of  Synods,  Seminaries  and  of  other  institutions,  which 
were  required  at  that  early  day.  He  also  well  knew  how  to  gov- 
ern a  certain  numerous  class  of  men.  Some  of  them,  however, 
refused  to  join  the  ranks,  and  others  stepped  out  when  they  began 
to  reflect  for  themselves.  He  was  the  most  indefatigable  man  I 
ever  knew — he  never  ceased  work  when  at  home  and  carried  his 
work  with  him  when  he  left.  He  was  always  busy  on  a  liturgy, 
or  constitution  or  something  else  connected  with  the  Church,  and 
would  talk  day  and  night  about  them  without  cessation.  Even 
while  sojourning  at  watering  places  during  the  summer,  where  he 
usually  met  some  Lutheran  ministers,  he  would  draw  out  his  man- 
uscripts and  expect  that  men  who  had  come  for  recreation  should 
submit  to  the  discussion  of  the  subject.  A  few  of  them  impatiently 
shook  him  off.  I  once  crossed  the  Atlantic  with  him,  and.  I  can 
safely  affirm  that  not  a  day  passed  on  which  the  everlasting  theme 
was  not  introduced.  Even  when  he  was  suffering  from  sea-sickness,- 
it  seemed  to  be  a  relief  to  him  to  talk  about  General  Synod,  Litur- 
gy, Constitution,  Seminary  and  certain  men.  It  was  not  only  talk, 
for  that  might  have  been  endured,  but  it  was  discussion,  contro- 
versy, scrutiny  which  required  tension  of  thought  to  follow,  and 
being  at  sea  is  not  the  place  nor  time  for  prolonged  and  logical 
thinking.  I  used  to  get  rid  of  what  really  was  an  annoyance  by 
looking  out  of  the  cabin  window  and  exclaiming  "  whale ! " 
"  whale  !  "  and  rush  up  on  deck  to  find  my  whale  was  nothing  but 
a  dark  wave  or  a  floating  mast  of  some  wrecked  vessel,  but  it 
answered  my  purpose  for  the  time. 

As  a  theologian  he  had  read  many  of  the  Avritings  of  our  older 
authors,  and  was  originally  trained  in  the  schools  of  Mosheim, 
Eeinhard,  Storr  and  Flatt,  and  others  of  the  same  modified  type. 
He  adopted  their  views  on  the  Sacraments  and  strongly  defended. 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE   LUTHEEAN    MINISTRY.  123 

them  in  an  '"Appendix  to  the  Doctrine  of  the  Eucharist"  on  page 
328,  Vol.  II  of  the  first  edition  of  his  Storr  and  Flatt.  He  desig- 
nated Reinhard's  illustration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  as  "  lucid  and 
philosophical,"  and  gives  it  his  hearty  assent.  Dr.  S.  subsequently 
changed  his  views,  and  in  his  numerous  writings  labored  to  depre- 
ciate the  old  Confessional  system  of  the  Church,  and  even  to  dis- 
parage 4those  sections  of  the  Confessions  themselves  which  teach 
the  Lutheran  doctrine  of  the  Sacraments.  He  was  all  along  a 
sturdy  defender  of  the  Church's  interests  as  he  understood  them, 
and  his  influence  on  her  progress  was  marked  and  decisive.  He, 
with- some  others  who  did  not  know  what  they  were  doing,  signed 
an  appeal,  w-hich  was  sent  to  Europe  in  1846,  which  disparaged 
the  Lutheran  doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  which  strongly 
prejudiced  the  minds  of  many  German  theologians  against  him, 
and  which  they  did  not  conceal  during  his  visit  to  Europe  in  that 
year. 

Never  was  a  more  senseless  blunder  committed.  Whilst  the 
Appeal  may  have  been  in  conformity  to  the  theological  opinions 
of  some  in  the  United  Church  of  Prussia,  yet  there  w-ere  thousands 
of  Lutherans  who  would  not  sanction  it  theologically.  The  United 
could  not  understand  how  men  professing  such  doctrines  or  deny- 
ing the  fundamental  principles  of  Lutheranism,  could  honestly 
call  themselves  Lutherans,  for  they  have  high  notions  of  consist- 
ency abroad,  and  the  Old  Lutherans  could  not  recognize  men  as 
such  w^ho  had  given  up  the  distinctive  points.  The  result  was,  to 
my  personal  knowledge,  that  when  Drs.  Schmucker  and  Kurtz 
went  to  Europe  in  1846,  not  one  of  them  was  invited  to  preach 
in  any  pulpit  on  the  Continent !  This  I  know  to  be  true,  for  I  was 
with  them.  They  were  treated  courteously  enough,  but  neither 
Lutheran,  nor  Reformed,  nor  United,  asked  them  into  their  j)ul- 
j-^its.  This  appeal  had  been  sent  out  before  them,  and  had  been 
extensively  published.  Tholuck  and  I  had  a  conversation  about, 
it,  and  the  worst  he  said  of  it  was  that  before  it  was  published  in 
Germany  he  and  some  others  rewrote  it  in  pure  and  classic  Ger- 
man. Dr.  S.  was  aware  of  this,  and  said  to  me,  "that  he  never 
in  his  life  tried  harder  to  write  good  German,"  but  after  all  it 
sounded  very  much  like  a  translation  from  English  into  German, 
which  I  presume  it  was,  and  it  abounded  in  American  Saxonisms. 

When  Dr.  S.  left  Princeton  Seminary  he  was  the  best  educated 
young  man  in  the  Church,  and  had  claims  upon  the  most  respectable 


124  FIFTY    YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

pulpit,  but  there  was  no  English  pulpit  vacant  at  that  time.  He 
could  preach  plain  German,  but  there  was  no  place  in  the  central 
section  of  the  church  which  needed  his  services.  He  took  charge 
of  an  obscure  pastorate  in  Shenandoah  Co.,  Va.,  where  his  youth- 
ful appearance,  his  fluent  speech,  well  prepared  sermons  and 
freshness  of  manner,  secured  for  him  a  bigh  popularity  among 
the  few  cultivated  people  of  that  region  outside  of  our  church. 
Before  his  coming  they  had  the  poorest  quality  of  preaching  from 
ignorant  Dunkers,  bigoted  Baptists,  uneducated  Methodists  and 
untaught  Lutherans.  "When  young  Schmucker  came  it  was  like 
fresh  viands  after  a  dreary  winter  of  stale  provision.  A  few  days 
after  his  settlement  he  was  invited  to  attend  a  funeral  of  some 
prominent  man  in  the  county.  He  had  carefully  prepared  a  ser- 
mon on  "  Blessed  are  the  dead,"  &c.  He  was  preceded  by  an  old 
illiterate  Baptist,  who  selected  the  same  text  and  bungled  through 
a  very  lame  discourse.  Schmucker  was  uneasy  Avhen  he  heard  the 
announcement,  fearing  that  the  man  would  exhaust  the  subjeot 
and  leave  nothing  for  him  to  say  ;  but  he  soon  discovered  that 
the  man  did  not  understand  the  text  and  made  terrible  work  of 
the  theme.  He  gained  confidence  as  the  man  proceeded,  and 
when  the  harrangue  was  finished  the  preacher  announced  that 
there  "was  a  young  man  present  who  would  add  a  few  words." 
Schmucker  arose  and  said,  that  the  preacher  for  want  of  time 
probably  had  left  some  points  of  the  text  untouched,  which  he 
would  sujDplement.  He  preached  his  whole  sermon,  and  created 
an  astounding  sensation.  He  was  an  entire  stranger,  and  every 
body  asked  who  that  young  man  was  ?  From  that  day  his  repu- 
tation was  established.  I  have  often  heard  him  tell  this  story 
with  great  glee.  He  never  was  pastor  of  any  other  church,  and 
left  this  after  a  few  years,  when  he  was  elected  to  the  Seminary. 
Hence  he  never  had  much  pastoral  experience,  and  encountered 
none  or  very  few  of  the  difficulties  of  a  long  j^astoral  life. 

Preaching  Avas  not  Dr.  S's.  special  province.  He  seldom  preached 
from  choice  and  never  at  night  after  he  went  to  the  Seminary. 
In  the  course  of  forty  years  he  did  not  preach  at  night.  Occa- 
sional sermons,  and  at  special  times,  he  rather  delighted  in,  and 
has  j)roduced  some  excellent  discourses  of  this  character.  He 
was  clear  and  logical  in  his  treatment  of  the  subject,  but  his  lan- 
guage is  almost  wholly  destitute  of  figurative  illustration  or 
rhetorical  beauty.     He  had  no  imagination,  and  all  his  discus- 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  125 

sions  especially  are  dry,  hard  logic.     Hence  while  he  was  pleas- 
ing as  a  .speaker,  no  hearer  was  ever  moved  bv  his  sermons. 

As  a  teacher  he  was  not  interesting,  though  he  had  a  complete 
mastery  of  his  subject,  yet  he  failed  to  awaken  enthusiasm  in  his 
pupils.  He  was  not  socially  inclined  to  them,  and  admitted  few 
to  intimacy  W'ith  him.  He  was  constantly  at  work  and  had  no 
time  for  the  amenities  of  life. 

He  was  not  always  on  cordial  terms  with  his  colleagues  in  the 
Faculty,  and  several  resignations  were  the  result. 

It  cannot  be  doubted  that  to  Dr.  Schmucker  the  Church  is  much 
indebted  for  the  respectable  position  it  assumed  and  the  progress 
it  made  during  the  early  part  of  his  career.  He  had  a  noble  am- 
bition to  elevate  its  character  by  the  development  of  its  resources, 
and  he  succeeded.  He  was  indefatigable  in  his  labors  to  j^romote 
what  he  conceived  to  be  its  best  interests.  I  never  knew  a  man 
more  wholly  given  up  to  the  prosecution  of  his  plans.  He  read 
none  of  the  popular  books  on  science  or  literature,  which  most 
cultivated  clergymen  indulge  in  for  recreation  from  more  severe 
studies  and  to  keep  abreast  of  the  progress  of  mind,  but  his  entire 
time,  day  and  night,  at  home  and  elsewhere,  was  devoted  to  his 
favorite  pursuits  of  w-i'iting,  2:»lanning,  begging  and  talking  for 
the  Church. 

As  an  author  he  was  prolific.  More  than  forty  distinct  publi- 
cations have  issued  from  his  pen,  besides  ten  or  twelve  articles  in 
the  Evangelical  Review.  Some  of  his  later  works  are  chiefly  re- 
modelings  of  the  earlier,  so  that  for  the  last  fifteen  years  of  his 
life  he  produced  nothing  absolutely  new  of  permanent  value. 

His  Appeal  on  Christian  Union,  jDublished  first  in  Andover,  1838, 
was  republished  in  London,  and  contributed  in  no  small  degree  in 
bringing  about  the  World  Alliance,  held  in  London  in  1846,  I 
heard  Dr.  King,  an  eminent  dissenting  minister,  openly  declare 
on  the  platform  in  London  that  to  Dr.  Schmucker  belongs  much 
of  the  credit  of  originating  and  promoting  that  great  movement. 

When  I  was  in  Germany  with  Dr.  S.,  in  1846,  I  was  frequenth'- 
asked  by  theologians,  who  was  considered  the  most  learned  man  of 
our  native  American  Lutheran  divines,  and  I  invariably  replied, 
"  Dr.  Schmucker."  "  Where  was  he  educated?"  "  In  the  United 
States,  at  Philadelphia  and  Princeton."  Now,  W'hen  it  is  consid- 
ered what  they  meant  by  a  learned  man,  and  knew  little  or  noth- 
ing of  our  institutions,  and,  perhaps,  rightly  thought  that  no  man 


126  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

could  ever  become  learned,  in  their  sense,  out  of  Germany,  on. 
wonder  they  shrugged  their  shoulders  and  looked  unconvinced. 
I  followed  it  up  by  remarking  that  an  American  with  less  than 
half  the  book  learning  they  had  would  be  more  efficient  in  the 
church  and  pulpit  than  a  dozen  of  them  together,  at  which  they 
smiled  incredulously. 

Dr.  S.  deserves  the  credit  of  being  the  originator  of  Pennsylva- 
nia College,  as  he  had  been  of  the  Gymnasium  previously.  For 
the  "old  academy,"  in  which  the  latter  was  held  before  the  col- 
lege building  was  erected,  he  became  personally  responsible  by 
either  advancing  the  money  or  endorsing  the  notes.  It  was  by 
his  untiring  efforts  that  the  charter  Avas  secured  from  the  legisla- 
ture of  Pennsylvania. 

He  was  also  greatly  instrumental  in  arranging  the  comiDlicated 
affairs  of  the  Emmans  Institute,  and  in  a  lengthy  rej^ort  disjolayed 
his  acute  business  aptitude  to  a  remarkable  degree. 

Of  the  hundreds  of  our  ministers  who  have  been  partly  or 
wholly  trained  for  their  work  by  Dr.  S.,  I  can  claim  the  distinction 
of  having  been  his  pupil  at  an  earlier  period  than  any  of  them. 
After  he  had  left  the  Seminary  at  Princeton,  he  took  the  tempo- 
rary charge  of  the  York  Academy,  and  there  it  was  that  I  received 
from  him  my  final  preparation  for  the  Sophomore  class  at  Prince- 
ton College.  He  was  at  that  time  a  young  man  of  twenty,  of  fair 
complexion,  meagre  visage,  of  vigorous  health  and  of  exceedingly 
staid  deportment.  Some  people  would  have  called  his  bearing 
dignified,  but,  young  as  I  was,  I  set  it  down  as  ascetic,  unsocial, 
recluse,  and  I  was  right.  He  was  a  laborious  student  and  had  no 
intimate  companions.  He  did  not  frequent  the  society  of  young 
ladies,  nor  indeed  of  any  class  of  people,  and  hence  was  not  what 
is  called  a  popular  young  man.  Everybody  regarded  him  as  a 
model  of  jDerfection,  as  far  as  purity  of  morals  was  concerned,  but 
nobody  was  intimate  enough  with  him  to  regard  him  as  a  friend. 
He  was  considerably  ahead  of  most,  if  not  all,  the  young  candi- 
dates for  our  ministry  in  theological  and  classical  training  of  that 
day,  for  let  not  my  readers  forget  that  in  1819,  or  thereabouts,  our 
whole  list  of  ministers  did  not  reach  two  hundred,  and  the  num- 
ber of  students  was  ver3^  small. 

At  that  remote  day  the  cry  for  ministerial  help  was  not  as  loud 
as  it  has  since  become.  There  were  few  vacant  churches  that  were 
clamorous  for  a  pastor.     All  the  old  districts  were  served  and  new 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE   LUTUEEAN    MINISTRY.  127 

ones  were  seldom  formed.  The  idea  of  aggressiveness  would  have 
created  dismay  in  the  brain  of  these  venerable  fathers.  They 
were  content  with  things  as  they  were,  and  a  little  more  so.  Hence 
■when  young  Schmucker  came  home  well  furnished  and  ready  for 
work  there  was  no  room  for  him.  To  employ  his  time  he  took 
charge  of  the  York  Academy  until  Providence  would  open  an 
effectual  door.  I  presume  it  was  very  mortifying  to  our  young, 
and  at  that  time,  accomplished  theologue,  to  be  permitted  to  re- 
main on  the  stocks  so  long  after  he  was  ready  to  be  launched,  but, 
gentle  reader,  renxember  this  was  fifty  years  ago.  Things  have 
changed  a  little  since.  Now  most  of  our  students  are  engaged  to 
churches  and  otherwise  engaged  ( imfortunately  for  some  of  them) 
to  other  people,  before  they  leave  the  Seminary.  Then  our  most 
promising  young  men  had  to  wait  until  some  old  minister  died  or 
became  too  feeble  to  serve  his  ten  or  twelve  churches  before  they 
could  get  employment. 

Nicholas  Schmucker,  a  godly,  recluse  old  minister,  the  uncle  of 
our  subject,  was  pastor  of  a  large  district  in  Shenandoah  and  ad- 
jacent counties  in  Virginia.  He  preached  only  German,  and  was 
a  perfect  specimen  of  the  old  school  of  ministers.  Exceedingly 
simple  and  even  primitive  in  his  habits,  never  going  beyond  the 
bounds  of  his  parish,  unknown  to  the  outside  world,  yet  his  re- 
ligious life,  his  ministerial  fidelity  and  his  blameless  demeanor  are 
to  this  day  the  theme  of  the  people  of  that  region.  He  relin- 
quished the  charge  of  four  of  his  churches  and  prevailed  upon  the 
people  to  call  his  nephew  as  their  minister.  He  accepted,  and  so 
we  see  the  highly  educated  Princetonian,  the  classmate  of  men 
who  afterward  became  Bishops  McHvaine  and  Johns,  and  of  other 
eminent  divines,  tracing  his  steps  to  an  obscure  section  of  Virginia, 
to  labor  among  a  people  not  far  advanced  in  intellectual  refine- 
ment, of  primitive  simplicity  and  of  exceedingly  rural  culture. 
A  man  of  his  mental  endowment  had  never  before  ministered  in 
that  particular  region.  There  were  ministers  and  good  men  too, 
after  their  sort,  but  here  was  a  young  man,  a  handsome  young 
man,  a  thoroughly  educated  young  man,  taking  the  pastoral  care 
of  churches  who  had  never  seen  the  like  before.  The  same  may 
be  said  of  the  minister;  he  had  never  seen  the  like  before. 

After  he  had  been  settled  there  several  years  he  conceived  the 
idea  of  establishing  a  sort  of  Pro-Seminary.  This  was  in  1823, 
and  it  gradually  led  to  the  founding  of  the  schools  we  now  have. 


128  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

at  Gettysburg.  Here,  the  second  time,  I  became  the  pupil  of  S. 
S.  Schmucker.  There  were  five  other  young  men  who  constituted 
the  class,  and  a  miscellaneous  crowd  it  was.  I  mean  that  we  were 
in  every  stage  of  preparation  ;  one  was  a  college  graduate,  another 
could  spell  but  a  few  words  of  the  Greek  Testament,  and  a  few 
others  had  the  same  difficulty  with  English.  But  they  were  all 
trained  to  be  useful  men.  The  mode  of  teaching  was  not  very 
systematic,  and  we  toddled  along  after  a  very  remarkable  fashion. 

Our  teacher  was  at  that  time  engaged  in  translating  the  The- 
ology of  Storr  and  Flatt,  which  was  published  at  Andover,  and 
which  reached  a  second  edition  with  some  alterations,  as  shall  be 
noticed  hereafter.  He  was  a  most  untiring  worker,  and,  being  a 
widower,  he  had  not  the  cares  of  a  household,  not  even  taking  his 
meals  in  the  parsonage.  He  thus  devoted  Ms  whole  time  to  his 
books.  I  never  knew  him  to  take  a  walk  or  do  anything  else  for 
mere  exercise.  He  did  not  seem  to  reqiiire  it ;  at  least  I  never 
knew  him  to  suffer  from  severe  confinement  to  head  work.  He 
had  no  visitors  to  annoy  him,  and  was  very  impatient  of  intruders. 
His  study  was  in  a  remote  part  of  the  house  from  ours,  and  I  do 
not  think  one  of  us  darkened  the  door  of  that  sacro-sanctum  in  a 
month.  So  neither  did  he  ever  enter  our  workshop  except  once  a 
day  at  recitation.  He  had  no  time  for  social  intercourse,  and  we 
had  none  to  hear  a  lecture  on  projoriety. 

During  Mr.  Schmucker's  residence  at  New  Market  he  accepted 
a  call  from  a  small  number  of  people  in  Georgetown,  D.  C,  to  es- 
tablish an  English  church  in  that  place.  It  was  a  most  auspicious 
time.  Those  of  our  people  who  had  gone  to  other  churches  were 
ready  to  come  home  again  if  young  Schmucker  would  become 
their  leader.  If  he  had  done  so  we  would  now  have  a  large 
church  in  that  city.  But  what  changed  his  mind?  In  the  mean 
time  a  seminary  had  been  spoken  of.  He  was  destined  to  be  the 
head  of  it.  After  a  hard  struggle  it  was  located  at  Gettysburg. 
He  was  chosen,  and  the  accejotance  to  Georgetown  was  given 
up.  He  went  to  Gettysburg  in  182G,  and  had  a  class  of  seven 
students  the  first  year.  Here,  for  the  third  time,  I  became  his 
pupil  for  a  very  brief  period. 

His  lectures  were  delivered  in  the  old  academy  building  until 
the  seminary  was  built.  Even  at  that  early  period  he  displayed 
an  extent  of  reading  and  profundity  of  research  that  utterly  as- 
tonished the  raw  youngsters,  and  would  have  called  out  the  ad- 
miration of  more  intellis;ent  men. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  129 

He  here  maintained  the  same  retired  and,  what  I  would  call, 
unsocial  life  of  his  earlier  days,  being  exclusively  given  to  his 
intellectual  work.  Once  or  twice  a  year,  perhaps,  he  would  accept 
an  invitation  to  tea,  but  he  regarded  it  as  a  bore,  because  it  robbed 
him  of  a  few  hours  of  study.  I  am  now  speaking  of  the  olden 
time.  Whether  he  changed  his  ascetic  habits  in  later  times  I  do 
not  know.  He  may  have  done  so  after  he  resigned  his  place  in 
the  seminary,  but  probably  not  before. 

I  never  knew  a  man  who  needed  and  took  less  relaxation  from 
severe  mental  toil  than  he.  He  never  laid  aside  a  subject  he 
was  working  at  because  he  had  grown  weary  of  it.  He  seemed 
not  to  require  that  variety  or  change  of  subject  that  so  many 
other  head-w^orkers  find  necessary  to  quicken  their  brain  or 
give  it  a  pause.  It  is  true  that  in  later  life  he  sometimes 
went  to  "the  Springs,"  biit  he  took  his  work  with  him  and 
labored  as  hard  as  ever.  One  of  our  divines  told  me  that 
he  once  met  Dr.  S.  at  Bedford.  He  was  tinkering  at  the 
"interminable"  Liturgy  or  some  other  Synodical  machine,  and 
insisted  upon  my  friend  hearing  it  read  and  helping  him  to  "  fix 
the  thing  up."  He  would  annoy  him  by  questions  and  bother 
him  with  difficulties,  all  the  while  as  calm  as  an  August  morning, 
upon  which  my  friend  lost  his  patience  and  curtly  said,  "  Dr.  S., 
I  have  come  here  for  relaxation.  I  want  to  lay  aside  all  perplex- 
ing subjects,  and  I  won't  listen  to  you  any  longer."  Now  this 
was  a  state  of  mind  of  which  Dr.  S.  had  no  conception,  because 
he  had  no  experience  of  it.  With  him  it  was  work,  work,  all  the 
time,  without  rest  or  cessation. 

Dr.  S.  was  the  severest  moralist  I  ever  knew,  and  carried  his 
principles,  I  think,  to  an  extreme  length.  He  objected  to  some 
amusements  which  a  wiser  age  now  sanctions,  and  opposed  some 
recreations  which  the  church  now  approves.  He  did  not  know  one 
card  from  another.  I  do  not  suppose  he  ever  had  a  dice  box  in 
his  hand,  even  for  amusement.  He  knew  nothing  of  chequers  or 
backgammon  or  chess.  He  never  was  in  a  theatre  or  circus ;  nev- 
er heard  an  opera.  He  even  doubted  the  propriety  of  Christians 
going  to  hear  famous  vocalists  in  a  concert  hall,  especially  if  they 
had  appeared  on  the  operatic  stage.  He  never  used  tobacco  in 
any  form.  He  never  drank  a  drop  of  strong  liquor  as  a  beverage. 
He  never  conformed  to  any  modern  fa.shion  in  dress  for  fashion's- 
sake,  however  neat  and  appropriate  it  might  be. 


130  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

He  was  the  most  imperturbable  man  I  ever  knew.  Nothing 
could  throw  him  off  his  guard.  He  would  appear  calm  under  the 
most  violent  assaults,  and  would  repel  an  attack  with  an  apparent 
mildness  and  unconcern  which  were  remarkable.  In  the  midst  of 
the  most  excited  debate,  when  everybody  else  around  him  was  at 
fever  heat,  he  was  as  cool  as  a  frosty  morning.  This  disposition 
gave  him  great  advantage  in  debate,  and  he  well  knew  how  to  use 
it  to  the  best  advantage.  It  is  an  old  saying,  that  the  man  who 
first  gets  mad  in  a  dispute  is  sure  to  have  the  wrong  side ;  it  is 
not  universally  true,  for  our  friend  was  often  wrong,  and  every- 
body knew  it,  and  yet  his  very  imperturbability  would  sometimes 
provoke  his  opjDonent  to  more  violent  language  and  manner  than 
the  occasion  justified. 

I  never  knew  a  man  who  had  such  perfect  self-control.  Asso- 
ciated with  him  for  many  years  in  Synods,  meetings  of  boards, 
committees,  conventions  of  every  kind  and  degree,  and  sometimes 
under  trying  circumstances,  when  the  discussion  was  warm  and 
his  positions  were  most  vehemently,  and,  on  some  occasions,  bit- 
terly assailed,  yet  he  never  gave  outward  evidence  that  his  temper 
was  rufiled  or  his  equanimity  disturbed.  I  once  was  present  when 
a  violent  assault  was  made  upon  his  motives,  and  the  severest  ob- 
jurgation hurled  at  him  by  a  very  influential  man ;  yet  Dr.  S.  did 
not  even  change  countenance,  nor  did  he  retort  in  any  other  man- 
ner than  by  calmly  observing  that  his  assailant  was  no  better  than 
he  was.  This  perfect  self-possession  gave  him  great  advantage  in 
animated  discussion.  Whilst  everybody  else  around  him  was  ex- 
cited, he  was  serene  and  unmoved.  Whilst  his  opponents  splut- 
tered and  scolded  and  threatened,  or  ridiculed  and  sneered,  he 
appeared  to  be  as  emotionless  as  an  iceberg.  The  calmness  of  his 
reply  often  gained  votes  which  his  argument  of  itself  would  have 
failed  to  do.  Men  whose  thinking  he  did  for  them  voted  with 
him  because  they  thought  he  was  badly  treated. 

He  was  a  most  ready  and  fluent  debater.  I  never  knew  him  to 
be  at  a  loss  for  a  word,  and  the  right  word  also,  and  he  seldom 
recalled  one.  He  had  a  happy  faculty  of  clearing  up  difficulties, 
and  an  equally  dangerous  one  of  sometimes  holding  back  light 
when  it  was  wanted.  I  merely  mean  that  he  did  not  tell  all  he 
knew  when  it  was  not  necessary. 

His  unremitting  devotion  to  his  books  and  his  love  of  undis- 
turbed solitude  did  not  interfere  with  the  duties  of  hospitality. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  131 

XDn  all  occasions  his  house  was  open  to  his  friends,  and  he  dis- 
pensed the  bounties  of  his  table  with  gentlemanly  grace  and  lib- 
erality. 

On  one  occasion,  during  a  visit  of  Dr.  S.  to  Baltimore,  he  and  I 
^ere  sitting  in  Dr.  Kurtz's  study  when  the  physician  of  our  State 
Insane  Asylum  entered.  He  was  introduced  to  Dr.  S.,  but  did  not 
hear  his  name  distinctly,  and  said  to  Dr.  K.,  "  I  have  come  to  in- 
quire about  a  book  on  Psychology,  by  one  of  your  ministers  named 
Schmucker.  I  should  like  to  see  it,  and  I  presumed  you  had  it." 
I  immediately  said,  "  Dr.  Fonerden,  you  have  just  been  introduced 
to  the  author  of  it."  Of  course  there  was  surprise  and  mutual 
gratification.  Dr.  S.  was  naturally  much  pleased,  and  from  that 
time  these  two  students  of  mental  philosophy  became  good  friends. 

TIUBUTE  TO  DR.  SCIIMUCKEH. 

The  following  tribute  to  the  memory  of  S.  S.  Schmucker,  D.  D., 
as  an  enlightened  and  consistent  advocate  of  Christian  Union 
among  Protestants,  constitutes  the  introduction  of  the  address  de- 
livered by  Dr.  F.  W.  Conrad  before  the  Evangelical  Alliance  on 
Interchange  of  Pulpits : 

Dr.  Schmucker  commenced  the  study  of  the  subject  of  Christian 
union  more  than  half  a  century  ago.  The  matured  results  of 
these  studies  were  given  to  the  world  in  his  "Fraternal  Appeal" 
to  the  American  churches,  which  was  first  published  in  1838,  and 
subsequently  passed  through  several  editions  in  a  revised  and 
enlarged  form.  It  was  extensively  circulated  in  England  and 
America,  awakened  a  deep  interest  in  the  subject,  received  favor- 
able notice  from  the  religious  press,  and  numerous  testimonials 
from  many  of  the  most  distinguished  divines  of  the  different 
Protestant  denominations.  It  is  an  admitted  fact  that  the  "Ap- 
peal "  of  Dr.  Schmucker  bore  a  prominent  part  in  preparing  the 
way  for  the  organization  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance  in  1846, 
He  was  present  at  its  first  meeting,  and  was  even  then  designated 
as  "the  father  of  the  Alliance,"  by  Dr.  King,  of  Ireland,  in  a 
public  address  delivered  in  London  at  that  time.  It  was  he  also 
who  moved  already,  at  that  first  meeting  of  the  Alliance,  that  its 
second  meeting  should  be  held  in  New  York ;  and,  although  his 
motion  was  not  adopted  at  that  time,  nevertheless  it  was  carried 
out  practically  twenty-seven  years  later,  as  the  present  sixth  con- 
ference of  the  Alliance  here  happily  attests. 


132  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Dr.  Schmucker  took  special  interest  in  the  subject  of  Christian 
union,  and  labored  for  its  promotion,  through  the  Evangelical  Al- 
liance, during  the  greater  portion  of  his  ministerial  and  profes- 
sional life.  As  he  approached  the  portals  of  eternity  during  his 
declining  years  his  mind  and  heart  were  more  and  more  absorbed 
by  it,  and  he  prepared  a  plan  for  the  confederation  of  all  Protest- 
ant denominations  in  an  Evangelical  Alliance  of  the  entire  Chris- 
tian world.  This  plan  was  published,  and  favorably  noticed  by  a 
number  of  religious  journals  of  different  denominations  in  this 
country  during  the  past  year,  and  a  copy  of  it  has  been  laid  be- 
fore the  committee  of  the  Alliance  for  their  consideration.  He 
looked  forward  to  this  meeting  with  ardent  solicitude,  and  ex- 
pected to  be  present  to  submit  his  plan  of  confederation  before 
the  Alliance  in  person. 

The  last  letter  I  received  from  him  had  reference  to  the  subject 
of  Christian  union,  and  contained  a  request  that  the  speaker 
should,  in  his  absence,  take  charge  of  his  plan  for  the  confedera- 
tion of  the  churches  of  Protestant  Christendom,  and  present  it 
for  consideration  at  the  meeting  of  the  General  Synod  of  the  Lu- 
theran Church.  But  God,  in  his  all-wise  providence,  so  ordered 
that  his  strong  desire  to  take  part  in  this  conference  could  not  be 
gratified.  On  the  26th  of  July  last,  after  entertaining  friends  at 
his  house  in  the  evening,  he  was  suddenly  seized  with  heart  dis- 
ease, and  before  midnight  died,  in  the  conscious  hoj)e  of  a  blissful 
immortality.  His  last  words  were  :  "  I  have  lived  and  am  dying 
in  the  faith  of  Jesus." 

DEATH  OF  DR.  SCHMUCKER. 

Last  week's  edition  of  The  Observer  announced  to  the  church 
the  sudden  death  of  the  most  widely  known  and  one  of  the  most 
revered  of  her  ministry.  The  funeral  services  of  the  deceased  were 
attended  in  Christ  Church,  Gettysburg,  on  Tuesday  evening,  July 
29th,  at  5  o'clock.  The  church  was  appropriately  draped  in  mourn- 
ing, and  a  large  number  of  personal  friends  and  acquaintances  of  the 
deceased,  and  also  a  goodly  number  of  the  neighboring  ministers, 
nearly  all  formerly  his  students,  had  assembled  to  do  reverence  to 
the  memory  of  a  distinguished  and  truly  good  man  before  his 
mortal  body  would  be  committed  to  the  grave. 

After  an  appropriate  funeral  chant  by  the  choir.  Rev.  D.  P. 
Rosenmiller,   of  Lancaster,  read  the  Scripture,   selected  from  I 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  133 

Cor.  XV,  and  I  Thea.  iv.  Rev.  Dr.  Valentine  offered  prayer,  and 
the  choir  sang  "  Rest,  Spirit  Rest." 

Rev.  Dr.  Hay,  pastor  of  the  church,  made  the  opening  remarks. 
"  A  family  bond  was  now  broken.  The  church  of  Christ  had  now 
lost  one  of  her  most  self-denying  ministers ;  our  own  church  one 
of  her  most  distinguished  members.  He  had  been  the  first  on  the 
ground  in  establishing  our  Lutheran  institution,  and  of  the  zeal- 
ous and  faithful  band  who  labored  so  many  years  he  was  the  last 
to  pass  away.  Dr.  Schmucker  had  frequent  and  unmistakeable 
premonitions  of  his  approaching  death,  but  found  in  them  no  occa- 
sion for  alarm  or  distress.  He  died  as  he  would  have  chosen — at 
home,  in  the  bosom  of  his  family.  Though  not  disposed  to  place 
great  importance  on  the  last  words  of  the  dying,  those  of  the  de- 
ceased form  precious  testimony  to  his  character — "  I  have  lived 
and  I  am  dying  in  the  faith  of  Jesus."  He  needs  no  eulogy,  but 
that  noble  witness  which  is  on  all  sides,  the  traces  of  his  life  of 
successful  work.  The  speaker  then  referred  to  the  works  of  the 
venerable  father  for  his  own  denomination,  and  to  the  efforts  which 
continued  through  life  to  advance  the  desire  for  church  union. 
Undoubtedly  he  has  now  no  regrets  for  his  labors  to  anticipate 
the  union  Avhich  takes  place  above." 

Rev.  Dr.  Lochman,  of  York,  for  many  years  a  friend,  and  in 
church  work  a  noble  associate  of  Dr.  Schmucker,  said  :  "  The  an- 
nouncement of  his  death  came  like  a  flash  of  lightning  in  a  clear 
summer  sky.  As  once  was  said  on  earth  in  sweetest  tones,  so 
now  we  may  hear  the  consoling  utterance,  "our  friend  sleepeth." 
We  may  reply  as  was  done  then  :  "  Lord,  if  he  sleepeth  he  shall  do 
well."  Cherished  friends,  cherished  landmarks,  may  pass  away, 
but  never  can  the  heart's  cherished  memory  forget  the  revered 
names  of  Krauth,  Baugher,  Stoever,  Jacobs,  Schmucker. 

"  He  did  much  to  raise  the  standard  of  education,  giving  to  the 
church  men  qualified  for  her  ministiy  and  equal  to  those  in  any 
church  in  the  land. 

"  Though  not  the  founder  of  the  General  Synod,  yet  when  the 
eflfort  of  the  fathers  for  its  establishment  had  failed,  his  encour- 
aging and  persevering  efforts  effected  its  organization.  Though 
dead,  he  is  still  laboring.  To  have  left  such  a  record  as  he  has 
done  was  worth  living  for :  to  set  up  landmarks  for  all  time,  to 
utter  sentiments  that  will  thrill  the  hearts  of  thousands  in  the 


134  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Master's  work.  Death  is  a  silent  and  powerful  preacher,  which 
here  eloquently  speaks  to  us  through  the  departed  friend.  " 

Rev.  Dr.  Morris,  of  Baltimore,  related  several  interesting  remi- 
niscences of  his  early  and  since  then  constant  and  intimate  inter- 
course with  Dr.  Schmucker,  first  as  his  instructor  in  the  York 
Academy,  where  Dr.  S.  taught  shortly  after  leaving  Princeton 
Seminary  ;  then  of  the  first  year  of  Dr.  S.  as  Professor  in  the 
Seminary  at  Gettysburg ;  the  class  numbered  fourteen,  of  whom 
five  are  now  alive.  All  who  had  known  him  could  say,  with  a 
former  fellow-citizen  of  Gettysburg  :  "  The  more  I  know  of  Dr.  S. 
the  more  pleased  I  am  with  him."  Though  men  might  not  agree 
with  him  in  all  things,  yet  they  were  compelled  to  respect  and 
revere  him.  He  filled  a  larger  space  in  this  country  than  any 
other  Lutheran  clergyman,  and  was  everywhere  the  representative 
of  our  church,  and  a  worthy  one  he  was.  Many  years  ago  the 
speaker  had  heard  Dr.  King,  an  eminent  dissenting  clergyman  of 
England,  in  a  public  address  in  London,  ascribe  the  paternity  of 
the  evangelical  alliance  to  Dr.  Schmucker.  The  objects  of  this 
alliance  Dr.  S.  ever  held  dear,  and  only  a  few  weeks  ago — speak- 
ing of  the  approaching  meeting  in  New  York — had  said  to  the 
speaker  :  "  I  will  go  there  to  carry  out,  if  I  can,  by  God's  help, 
my  own  sentiments."  Who  will  be  his  biographer?  To  recount 
his  life  will  be  to  give  the  history  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in 
America." 

As  the  successor  of  Dr.  S.  as  chairman  of  the  Theological  Fa- 
culty, Piev.  Dr.  Brown,  in  a  few  remarks,  bore  witness  to  the 
kindly  sympathy  and  hearty  support  which  Dr.  S.  had  ever  given 
him  in  his  ofiicial  position,  everywhere  with  cordial  kindness, 
speaking  even  flatteringly  of  him,  thus  affording  him  much  com- 
fort and  support  in  his  laborious  position."  Rev.  Dr.  Baum,  of 
York,  chairman  of  the  Seminary  Board,  in  behalf  of  the  board 
said  :  "  We  thank  God  for  the  life  and  ministry  of  Dr.  Schmucker. 
During  all  the  nearly  forty  years  of  the  active  connection  of  Dr. 
S.  with  the  Seminary  fullest  harmony  had  existed  between  him 
and  the  board.  Hardly  a  measure  he  had  proposed  but  had  met 
with  their  approval.  Few  had  filled  such  a  place  as  he  had 
done." 

The  choir  then  sang  "  Asleep  in  Jesus,"  after  which  the  body 
was  borne  to  its  last  resting  place,  followed  by  a  number  of  rela- 
tives and  many  friends.  .  At  the  grave  the  solemn  funeral  service 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  135 

was  read,  and  the  last  service  of  love  for  the  body  of  Dr. 
Schmucker  was  performed,  but  his  memory  will  ever  be  held  dear 
to  loving  hearts.  The  pall-bearers  were  Revs.  L.  A.  Gotwald  and 
A.  H.  Sherts,  of  Chambersburg  ;  P.  Anstadt,  of  York  ;  S.  Ying- 
ling  and  G.  Parsons,  of  Hanover,  and  C.  L.  Keedy,  of  Waynes- 
boro. E.  s.  E. 
The  following  is  from  one  of  his  earlier  pupils : 
"  I  first  saw  him  in  York,  Pa.,  in  1825  or  '26.  He  preached  for 
his  father  in  German  in  the  morning,  and  in  English  at  night. 
He  was  then  a  young  man  of  very  youthful  appearance,  and  his 
preaching  made  a  deep  impression  on  my  mind.  But  my  intimate 
acquaintance  with  him  properly  began  on  the  28th  of  March, 
1828,  when  I  became  a  student  at  Gettysburg.  He  was  then  sole 
Professor  of  the  Seminary,  and  Piev.  David  Jacobs  was  tutor  of 
the  old  Academy.  In  1880  I  entered  the  Theological  Seminary, 
and  was  under  his  instructions  for  nearly  three  years,  and  had  a 
good  opportunity  of  becoming  acquainted  with  him  as  a  man  and 
a  professor. 

From  1828  to  about  1845 — some  seventeen  years — he  occupied 
the  highest  position  in  the  church,  and  during  that  time  he  had 
more  influence  in  the  Lutheran  Church  in  the  United  States  than 
any  other  man  in  it.  He  was  a  man  of  untiring  industry,  and 
being  very  methodical  in  his  habits  and  accurate  in  his  studies, 
he  was  able  to  accomplish  much  for  the  church.  His  lectures  in 
the  Seminary,  and  the  sermons  he  preached  at  the  meetings  of  the 
Synods,  were  models  of  neatness  and  accuracy.  Everything  was 
in  place — nothing  wanting — nothing  redundant.  Like  Atlas,  he 
seemed  for  a  time  to  have  carried  the  whole  Lutheran  Church  on 
his  .shoulders.  Nothing  could  be  done  without  him  ;  he  had  made 
his  labors  a  necessity  in  the  church.  Thus  he  compiled  its  hymn 
book,  and  its  liturgy,  its  formula  of  discipline — he  prepared  his 
Theology  by  request  of  the  General  Synod,  and  had  the  moulding 
of  nearly  all  the  ministers  of  the  church  in  his  own  hands  for 
over  twenty  years.  And  such  was  his  influence,  growing  out  of 
his  elevated  position,  his  talents  and  learning,  and  the  urbanity 
and  suavity  of  his  manners,  that  he  succeeded  in  forming  very 
many  of  his  students  into  his  own  model.  He  was  a  man  of  most 
exemplary  piety  and  sincerity.  His  views  on  theology  were  clear 
and  scriptural,  and  although  he  was  devotedly  attached  to  the 
Lutheran  Church,  it  was  doubt(?d  by  many  of  his  warmest  friends, 


136  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

■after  1845,  whether  he  was  true  to  the  confessional  stand-point 
of  historical  Lutheranism.  His  father,  Dr.  J.  G.  Schmucker,  was 
a  Pietistic  Lutheran  of  the  Spenerian  School,  and  hence  sent 
him  to  study  theology  at  a  Puritanical  Seminary  ;  this  was,  per- 
haps, a  misfortune  for  one  who  was  to  have  the  training  of  not 
less  than  five  hundred  ministers  in  his  hands. 

He  had  his  enemies  in  the  Lutheran  Church  all  along,  and  lead- 
ing men  in  the  Pennsylvania  Synod,  and  in  the  New  York  Minis- 
terium,  and  in  Ohio  and  North  Carolina,  op^josed  his  Puritanism, 
but  he  bravely  maintained  his  position  up  to  about  1846.  About 
that  time  his  Lutheran  orthodoxy  began  to  be  suspected  by  some 
of  his  own  students,  and  especially  those  who  had  charge  of  Penn- 
sylvania College.  An  unpleasant  state  of  things  grew  out  of 
this  want  of  confidence  in  his  Lutheranism.  By  this  time,  too, 
the  German  and  Scandinavian  elements  began  to  be  more  potent 
in  the  United  States,  and  many,  even  of  the  Gettysburg  men  (i.e., 
those  who  had  studied  there),  began  to  lose  confidence  in  him  as 
the  leader  of  the  church.  No  one  ever  doubted  his  sincerity, 
his  learning  or  his  piety  —  his  views  in  his  "Theology,"  his 
"Patriarchs  of  Lutheranism,"  his  "Lutheran  Church  in  Amer- 
ica," and  other  works,  had  been  so  fully  and  clearly  expressed 
that  there  could  be  no  mistaking  them.  He  defended  his  views 
with  great  ingenuity  and  force,  but  all  to  no  j^urpose,  the  tide  set 
in  against  him,  and  he  could  not  stem  it.  So  he  retired  some  ten 
years  ago,  and,  in  1868,  published  his  "  Church  of  the  Redeemer," 
which  is  little  more  than  a  kind  of  concentration  of  his  former 
works;  but  the  work  attracted  but  little  attention  in  the  church, 
as  the  great  work  of  its  most  excellent  author  had  been  fully  fin- 
ished before  its  publication.  We  do  not  state  this  fact  to  detract 
from  the  high  and  well-merited  reputation  of  the  author,  for, 
as  is  well  known,  we  were  one  of  his  most  devoted  friends,  and 
firmly  stood  by  him  to  the  last.  We  were  one  among  the  few  who 
endorsed  his  views,  and  cannot  but  regret  that  his  clear,  Scriptu- 
ral and  liberal  views  did  not  prevail  in  the  Lutheran  Church. 
We  still  hope  and  pray  that  his  large  and  liberal  views  will, 
after  some  time  be  past,  be  endorsed  by  the  Lutheran  Church  in 
America. 

As  a  man  and  Christian  we  loved  him.  He  stood  high  in  the 
estimation  of  all  the  Protestant  churches  in  the  land,  and  did 
more  toward  raising  the  Lutheran  Church  in  the  opinion  of  the 


.  FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  137 

Christian  community  of  the  United  States  than  any  other  man 
among  us.  His  hibors  will  not  soon  be  forgotten ;  his  name  and 
memory  will  be  cherished  with  gratitude  and  affection  by  the 
many  students  who  had  the  great  pleasure  of  studying  under  him, 
and  by  none  more  so  than  by  myself.  R.  w. 


BEXJAMIN    KURTZ 

exerted  a  more  wide-spread  influence  over  the  laity  of  the  church 
and  many  of  the  ministers  than  any  man,  and  that  was  principally 
through  the  Lutheran  Observer.  He  was  an  able  preacher,  a  vig- 
orous though,  in  his  early  life,  a  wordy  writer.  He  stoutly  main- 
tained what  was  called  the  Evangelical  stand-point,  and  was  an 
ardent  advocate  of  what,  in  his  day,  were  called  new  measures. 
He  was  a  hard  man  to  preach  to,  and  seldom  listened  to  any  other 
man's  sermons  with  any  degree  of  patience.  I  often  charged  him 
with  this  infirmity,  and  he  never  denied  it.  The  only  man  whom 
I  ever  heard  him  speak  well  of  as  a  preacher,  that  is,  one  whom 
he  could  listen  to  through  a  series  of  Sundays,  was  not  of  his  own 
church.  The  result  was  that  Dr.  K.,  when  he  lived  in  places 
where  he  himself  was  not  pastor,  and  where  Lutheran  churches 
existed,  did  not  frequently  attend  divine  service  with  his  brethren 
of  the  same  household  of  faith.  Their  preaching  did  not  suit  his 
taste,  and  he  went  elsewhere,  but  found  it  hard  to  be  satisfied. 

He  was  an  able  disputant  with  the  pen  and  speech,  and  has 
gained  credit  in  encounters  with  men  distinguished  for  their  con- 
troversial powers.  A  statesman  and  lawyer  of  distinction  has 
said  that  if  Dr.  K.  had  turned  his  attention  to  politics  or  law  he 
would  have  attained  a  wide-spread  reputation. 

He  was  cool  in  the  fiercest  debate,  and  not  easily  provoked  by 
the  severest  attack. 

His  mind  was  metaphysically  inclined,  but  he  never  profoundly 
studieil  mental  philosophy. 

He  readily  detected  weak  points  in  the  argument  of  an  oppo- 
nent, an<l,  like  most  men  who  love  controversy,  he  often  subjected 
himself  to  similar  exposures. 


138  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

He  was  not  a  man  of  original  wit,  though  occasionally  he  wrote 
some  smart  things. 

He  was  too  profuse  in  his  words  to  be  a  good  narrator  of  stories, 
and,  though  a  fair  conversationalist,  he  was  a  bad  listener. 

He  enjoyed  the  company  of  friends,  but  invariably  practised 
the  right  of  precedence  in  the  conversation. 

Dr.  K.  was  not  what  we  call  a  learned  man  or  a  profound  theo- 
logian. He  had  no  college  training  in  early  life,  but  he  was  un- 
commonly intelligent  in  all  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life,  and  achieved 
more  good  in  the  ministry  than  many  of  far  greater  attainments. 

He  was  diligent  as  an  investigator,  and  never  ventured  upon 
any  subject  strange  to  him  without  thorough  research  into  such 
sources  that  were  within  his  reach.  He  would  introduce  the  sub- 
ject in  conversation,  in  order  to  acquire  information  and  ideas 
from  others.  I  could  give  many  instances  of  this,  which  is  a 
practice  greatly  to  be  commended. 

When  Dr.  K.  came  to  Baltimore,  in  August,  1833,  to  assume 
the  editorial  charge  of  the  Lutheran  Observer,  he  was  a  widower 
and  not  in  vigorous  health.  He  had  little  experience  in  writing, 
and  he  had  some  difficulty  in  pruning  his  superfluous  verbiage, 
but  he  acquired  a  vigorous,  if  not  ornate  style,  and  rendered  in- 
valuable service  to  the  church  in  this  position.  He  had  no  other 
employment,  and  was  ambitious  of  success.  He  was  not  under 
the  control  of  any  Synod  or  Board,  and  pursued  his  own  indepen- 
dent way.  He  maintained  this  position  by  himself  for  about  fif- 
teen years,  until  the  establishment  of  the  book  and  publishing 
office,  principally  through  his  own  agency.  He  superintended 
that  institution  with  great  ability  and  success,  for  he  had  eminent 
business  capacity.  Some  of  his  friends  thought  that  he  carried 
his  extreme  notions  of  economy  too  far,  and  blamed  him  for  lack 
of  commercial  enterprise ;  but  he  carried  into  that  business  the 
same  principles  which  governed  him  in  his  private  affairs,  and, 
never  being  imprudent  in  risks,  he  suffered  few  losses.  He  always 
lived  within  his  income,  however  limited  it  may  have  been. 

The  foundation  of  the  "Book  Company"  was  the  result  of  a 
conversation  he  and  I  had  in  my  study  in  1836.  We  both  entered 
into  it  with  earnestness,  but  the  credit  of  getting  it  into  success- 
ful operation  belongs  principally  to  him.  He  was  the  business 
man  of  the  concern,  and  was  well  adapted  to  it.  But  of  this  in- 
stitution I  will  speak  at  another  place. 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  139 

Mr.  K.  went  to  Germany  in  1826  to  solicit  donations  of  money 
and  books  for  the  Theological  Seminary  about  to  be  established  at 
Gettysburg.  He  remained  absent  nearly  two  years,  and  brought 
home  about  ^10,000  in  money  and  a  large  number  of  books. 
Whilst  in  Germany  he  received  many  courtesies  from  all  classes 
of  men,  and  secured  extensive  popularity  as  a  plain  and  impres- 
sive jireacher.  Immense  crowds  everywhere  attended  the  churches 
in  which  he  officiated.* 

He  went  a  second  time  to  Europe  in, 1846  to  attend  the  Evan- 
gelical Alliance  in  London  in  August  of  that  year,  and  for  rec- 
reation.' 

Ten  years  previous  to  this  second  voyage  he  had  made  prepara- 
tions to  visit  the  old  world,  but  his  design  was  frustrated  by  the 
death  of  his  second  wife.  He  was  engaged  by  a  railroad  company 
in  Georgia  to  go  to  Germany  to  secure  the  services  of  three  thou- 
sand or  more  Germans  to  come  to  this  country  and  construct  that 
road.  These  emigrants  were  to  labor  several  years  for  the  money 
paid  for  their  passage,  and  then  to  receive  a  portion  of  land. 
The  enterprise  was  fiei'cely  opposed  by  many  influential  Germans 
in  this  country,  who,  through  the  papers  and  circulars  extensively 
distributed,  warned  their  countrymen  against  accepting  these 
offers.  So  vehement  was  the  opposition  made,  and  so  violently 
were  Mr.  K's.  motives  and  character  assailed,  that  he  found  it  ex- 
pedient to  come  out  in  a  public  vindication  of  himself  and  of  the 
managers  of  the  enterprise. f 

Dux'ing  the  time  when  Mesmerism  was  rampant  in  this  country 
he  became  a  believer  in  the  system ;  not  in  its  lower,  but  in  its 
higher  manifestations,  and  was  president  of  a  club  of  intelligent 
gentlemen  who  prosecuted  the  subject  as  a  matter  of  metaphysical 
research.  I  myself  have  seen  him  subject  himself  to  an  ignorant 
clairvoyant,  who,  under  the  alleged  influence  of  the  subtile  fluid 
(or  whatever  else  it  was),  pretended  to  inspect  the  condition  of 
Mr.  K's.  lungs,  and  vowed  that  he  saw  tubercles  and  some  other 
abnormal  demonstrations ! 

In  1834  he  was  elected  Professor  of  History  and  German  Liter- 
ature in  Pennsylvania  College,  and  Professor  in  the  Theological 
Seminary,  both  of  which  he  declined.  He  loved  his  work  on  the 
Observer  too  well  to  give  it  up  for  any  other. 

He  died  in  Baltimore,  December  29,  1865. 

"See  my  History  of  the  Seruinai-y  in  Ev.  Review,  1876,  No.  ... 

tLuth.  Obs.  im).    May  27,  July  '£i. 


140  FIFTY   YEAES    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

For  many  of  the  jiarticulars  of  Dr.  Kurtz's  life,  .see  Ev.  Review. 
January,  1867,  and  Hutter's  Eulogy. 

No  man  ba.s  died  in  the  church  for  many  years  who  more  richly 
deserved,  and  whose  life  would  furnish  more  interesting  data  for 
a  full  biography,  than  Dr.  Kurtz. 

SINCERE  COMPLIilEST. 

Dr.  B.  Kurtz  was  once  riding  to  York  in  the  cars,  and  fell  in 
with  a  gentleman  who  soon  announced  himself  as  a  Presbyterian 
minister,  without,  however,  mentioning  his  name.  Dr.  K.'s  name 
was  equally  unknown  to  him.  The  subject  of  baptism  was  dis- 
cussed by  them,  and,  as  they  were  of  one  mind,  every  thing  went 
on  very  pleasantly.  The  merits  of  various  books  on  that  subject 
were  freely  considered,  and,  in  the  midst  of  the  animated  conver- 
sation, the  train  stopped  at  York,  and  the  passengers  were  sum-  - 
moned  into  the  hotel,  a  few  steps  from  the  station,  to  dinner.  Both 
our  men  sat  down  on  opposite  sides  of  the  table.  A  number  of 
the  guests  knew  Dr.  K.,  at  least  by  name.  The  other  gentleman 
recommenced  the  conversation  on  baptism,  and  said,  "  By  the  way, 
I  wish  to  recommend  a  book  to  you,  which,  I  think,  is  the  very 
best  of  them  all.  It  treats  the  matter  more  lucidly  and  popularly 
than  any  other  I  know.  I  have  derived  great  benefit  from  it,  and 
I  recommend  it  to  everybody."  "Ah,  sir,  what  book  is  that?" 
said  K.,  looking  over  his  plate  of  soup.  "  Why,  it  is  a  book  writ- 
ten by  a  Lutheran  clergyman  in  Baltimore,  named  Kurtz,  and  I 
repeat  it  is  the  best  of  them  all.  I  advise  you  to  read  it."  What 
did  K.  say  ?  Not  a  word.  He  blushed  a  little,  and  proceeded 
with  his  dinner,  perhaps,  with  better  appetite  than  before.  The 
others  present  who  knew  K.  looked  at  him  with  smiles  and  anti- 
cipated some  reply  ;  but  not  a  word  escaped  him,  and  K.  did  not 
manifest  any  emotion  from  which  the  stranger  could  discern  the 
author. 

J{EA^  DR.  B.   KURTZ. 

"  The  American  Evangelical  minister,  Kurtz,  was  invited  to 
dine  wath  a  merchant  of  this  city  upon  a  certain  day  last  week. 
Mr.  K.  accepted  the  invitation,  but  soon  after  a  messenger  of  the 
Crown  Prince  called  u]3on  him,  and  brought  an  invitation  to  dine 
with  the  Crown  Prince  on  the  same  day  on  which  Mr.  K.  had 
promised  to  dine  with  the  merchant.     Mr.  K.  excused  himself 


FIFTY    YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  141 

saying,  "  I  have  promised  to  Jine  with  merchant  N.  N.,  and  con- 
sequently cannot  accept  of  the  polite  invitation  to  dine  with  his 
Eoyal  Highness."  The  messenger,  to  whom  the  like  had  never  oc- 
curred, smiled  and  said,  "It  is  customary  to  waive  every  engage- 
ment in  consideration  of  a  later  invitatiort  from  great  personages." 
Mr.  K.  declared,  however,  that  Ilis  Royal  Highness  would  cer- 
tainly not  require  of  a  minister  of  the  gospel  to  disregard  a  prom- 
ise. The  messenger,  discovering  that  he  had  a  singular  person 
before  him,  appeared  to  be  much  mortified,  and  observed,  "  I 
cannot  certainly  bring  His  Royal  Highness  such  an  answer  as  I 
conceive  you  made.  What  shall  I  say  ?"  "  Say  every  thing  as  I 
have  spoken,  and,  if  you  should  be  brought  into  any  difficulty,  I 
will  make  every  exertion  to  apologize  for  you  to  His  Royal  High- 
ness." The  messenger  departed  and  made  report,  upon  which  the 
Prince  and  Princess  burst  into  laughter,  and  the  Prince  observed, 
"  This  must  be  an  honest  man  who  appreciates  his  word  of  promise 
so  highly."  Letter  from  Berlin,  1827,  in  Luth.  IntelL,  Vol.  II, 
July,  1827. 

DH.   B.    KL'KTZ'S  PREACUtXG   i:^  GERMANY  IN  1S3T. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Kurtz,  from  North  America,  the  important  and 
benevolent  object  of  whose  mission  is  generally  known,  has  at 
length  visited  Nurnberg,  and  delivered  a  discourse  in  the  Lorenzer 
church  on  Exaudi  Sunday.  He  spoke  of  the  love  of  Christ,  our 
Lord,  from  J^phes.  iii,  19.  In  the  first  part  of  his  discourse  he 
described  the  nature  of  this  love,  and  in  the  second  its  excellency. 
The  sermon  was  drawn  from  the  pure  fountain  of  the  word  of 
God,  couched  in  the  simple  and  powerful  language  of  the  spirit 
of  God,  and  delivered  in  a  most  pathetic  manner.  Thousands  of 
those  who  flocked  to  the  church  were  edified  and  led  to  Christ,  the 
Redeemer,  by  this  truly  evangelical  sermon.  A  number  of  per- 
sons, lately  confirmed,  being  present,  were  addressed  in  a  most 
affeci.ing  manner,  and  encouraged  to  love  the  Lord.  Not  a  few 
of  the  hearers  declared  that  they  could  have  listened  to  this  man 
with  extreme  delight  for  many  years.  With  such  success  is  the 
heart  addressed  by  the  simple  exposition  of  the  gospel!  May 
this  worthy  servant  of  Christ  long  continue  to  preach  unto  our 
brethren  dwelling  in  America  the  name  of  Him  to  whom  belong- 
eth  all  honor  and  glory,  for  ever  and  ever."  Extract  of  a  German 
paper,  quoted  in  Luth.  Intell.,  Vol.  II,  Oct.,  1827. 


142  FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY. 


EMBARRASSMRNT  AND  DELIVERAKCE. 


When  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  B.  Kurtz  was  in  Europe,  in  1826,  in  behalf 
of  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Gettysburg,  he  was  painfully  em- 
barrassed in  London  because  his  bill  of  exchange,  owing  to  some 
informal  item,  could  noi  be  negotiated,  and  for  some  days  he  was 
without  funds  and  much  distressed.  After  describing  his  forlorn 
condition  and  deep  despondency,  he  thus  proceeds,  in  a  letter  to 
the  Lutheran  Intelligencer,  of  June,  1828  : 

One  morning,  after  having  made  my  breakfast  on  a  bowl  of 
water  and  a  small  slice  of  dry  bread,  I  took  my  hat  and  sallied  forth, 
into  the  street,  and,  without  having  any  particular  object  in  view, 
strolled  about  from  street  to  street  until  I  lost  myself;  but  He  who 
has  numbered  the  hairs  of  our  head  directed  my  steps.  I  was 
wandering  in  Bishopsgate  street  when  I  observed  crowds  of  peo- 
ple issuing  from  different  quarters  and  entering  a  large  building 
called  the  "  City  of  London  Tavern."  Perceiving  a  young  gen- 
tleman and  lady  walking  arm-in-arm  towards  the  tavern,  I  was 
emboldened,  by  the  mildness  and  sweetness  of  their  countenances, 
to  inqiiire  into  the  cause  of  the  meeting,  and  was  told,  in  the 
most  friendly  manner,  that  the  great  "  Sunday  School  Union  " 
was  to  hold  its  anniversary,  and  that  there  would  be  many  inter- 
esting speeches  delivered.  My  mind  was  for  a  moment  diverted 
from  the  gloomy  subject  that  had  been  harrassing  it,  and  I  imme- 
diately resolved  to  attend  the  meeting.  But  the  house  was 
crowded  to  overflowing,  and  I  could  get  no  further  than  the  door. 
After  many  fruitless  attempts  to  gain  admission,  I  resolved  to 
withdraw,  when  that  moment  I  espied  a  gentleman  with  a  long 
staff  in  his  hand  and  wearing  a  mark  of  authority  upon  his  hat. 
I  beckoned  to  him,  and,  telling  him  I  was  a  minister  of  the  gospel 
just  arrived  from  North  America,  begged  him  to  try  and  procure 
a  seat  for  me.  He  kindly  interfered,  and  obtained  a  place  for  me 
on  the  platform  which  had  been  prepared  for  the  accommodation 
of  those  who  were  to  address  the  assembly. 

Here  were  about  forty  or  fifty  clergymen,  a  number  of  mis- 
sionaries from  different  parts  of  the  world,  as  well  as  nobility  and 
members  of  the  House  of  Parliament.  I  had  not  been  here  long 
before  I  was  solicited  to  offer  a  resolution  and  support  it  with  a 
speech.  I  declined,  upon  the  ground  of  being  entirely  unjDre- 
pared,  and  having  come  only  with  a  view  of  being  a  spectator, 
&c.;  but  it  was  all  to  no  purpose.     I  must  rise  and  say  something, 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  143 

and  if  it  were  only  a  few  words  on  the  state  of  tlie  church  and  of 
Sunday  schools  in  the  United  States.  Finally,  after  much  per- 
suasion, I  consented,  and,  though  I  had  not  one  distinct  idea  ar- 
ranged in  my  mind  when  I  rose  to  speak,  yet  my  tongue  seemed 
to  be  suddenly  loosed,  and  I  was  blessed  with  a  train  of  thought 
and  flow  of  feeling  and  freedom  of  language  which  altogether 
astonished  myself.  I  had  not  spoken  five  minutes  until  an  hun- 
dred voices  exclaimed  hear  him  !  hear  him  !  hear  him  !  and  then 
again  there  was  such  a  clapping  of  hands  and  stamping  of  feet 
that  I  was  several  times  obliged  to  be  silent  until  the  bursts  of 
applause  had  subsided.  It  is  in  this  way  that  the  British  teach 
and  constrain  their  citizens,  especially  those  who  are  young  and 
timid  to  become  public  and  extemporaneous  speakers.  If  they 
hear  a  single  good  idea  they  will  give  the  speaker  credit  for  it  the 
moment  it  is  uttered  by  a  loud  expression  of  their  approbation. 
If  ^they  perceive  him  to  be  embarrassed  they  will  immediately 
come  to  his  aid,  and  kindly  relieve  him  by  applauding  his  attempt. 
If  he  acquits  himself  well  the  very  welkin  re-echoes  their  shouts. 
This,  indeed,  renders  their  public  meetings  boisterous,  but  also 
more  diversified  and  less  tedious  than  ours.  And  hence  a  British 
audience  will  sit  from  6  o'clock  in  the  morning  till  3  P.  M.,  hear- 
ing and  applauding  public  orators,  without  once  manifesting  a 
symptom  of  fatigue.  And,  whilst  Americans  would  be  gaping 
and  yawning  and  sleeping,  they  will  be  acclaiming  and  cheering 
the  orator;  ^o  that  if  he  have  one  solitary  latent  spark  of  elo- 
quence in  his  soul  it  will  thus  be  called  into  action.  When  the 
gospel,  however,  is  preached,  they  do  not  allow  themselves  such 
liberties,  but  observe  the  most  respectful  silence  and  solemnity. 
But  I  must  return  to  my  narrative.  After  the  meeting  was  over 
a  gentleman  of  respectable  appearance  approached  me,  and,  lay- 
ing his  hand  on  my  shoulder,  said,  in  a  most  friendly  manner, 
"  My  brother,  will  you  have  the  goodness,  in  your  way  home,  to 
call  at  the  house  of  Mr.  S.,*  in  Cheapside,  No.  2?"  "I  presume, 
sir,"  said  I,  "you  are  under  a  mistake.  There  is  no  acquaintance 
whatever  between  Mr.  S.  and  myself.  I  am  a  stranger  and  know 
nobody.  Probably  it  is  some  other  person  whom  Mr.  S.  is  desi- 
rous to  see"."  "Is  your  name  Mr.  Kurtz,  and  are  you  from  the 
United  States?"  "Yes,  sir,  you  have  mentioned  my  name  and 
my  country."  "Then,  sir,"  continued  he,  "you  are  the  person 
whom  Mr.  S.  is  desirous  to  see."     I  immediately  repaired  to  Cheap- 

•  Mr.  S.  afterwards  requested  mo  not  to  make  his  name  known. 


144  FIFTY   YEARS    IN   THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

side,  and  entered  the  house  of  Mr.  S.  I  was  conducted  wp  stairs 
into  a  splendid  drawing  room,  where  I  beheld  a  gentleman  seated 
on  a  magnificent  sofa,  and  engaged  in  reading  a  book.  Here  the 
following  dialogue  ensued  : 

Myf>elf.  I  have  taken  the  liberty,  sir,  to  call  on  you  at  the  re- 
quest of  a  gentleman  who  is  a  stranger  to  me.  I  am  apprehensive 
there  must  be  a  mistake ;  I  beg  you  to  pardon  me  if  I  am  an  in- 
truder. 

Mr.  8.  I  am  extremely  happy  to  see  you,  sir ;  my  name  is  S. 
Will  you  do  me  the'favor  to  be  seated? 

Self.  With  pleasure,  sir.  It  appears  then  my  visit  is  not  the 
result  of  a  misunderstanding? 

Mr.  S.  By  noi  means.  I  was  v^ry  anxious  to  form  an  acquaint- 
ance with  you  ;  I  beg  you  to  forgive  me  for  presuming  so  much  on 
your  goodness  as  to  ask  the  favor  of  a  visit.  I  attended  the  anni- 
versary of  the  "Sunday  School  Union"  to-day,  heard  you  deliver 
a  speech  there,  and  was  delighted  to  find  that  you  entertain  the 
very  same  views  on  the  subjects  that  I  do.  This  was  the  more 
gratifying  as  we  ai'e  inhabitants  of  different  hemispheres,  and  live 
at  least  one  thousand  leagues  from  one  another.  If  you  had 
spoken  from  the  very  impressions  resting  on  my  mind  you  could 
not  have  more  entirely  given  utterance  to  my  ideas. 

Self.  Sir,  it  affords  me  much  pleasure  to  learn  that  w^e  coincide 
in  the  views  which  I  endeavored  to  express  at  the  meeting  to-day. 

Mr:  S.  I  understood  with  the  sincerest  regret  that  your'  bill  of 
exchange  has  been  protested,  and  I  can  well  imagine  how  unpleas- 
ant the  situation  of  a  gentleman  in  a  strange  land,  and  in  an  ex- 
pensive city,  under  such  circumstances,  must  be.  I  beg  you  to  do 
me  the  favor  of  accepting  this  (holding  out  to  me  a  handful  of 
gold)  as  a  small  evidence  of  my  gratitude  for  the  delight  your 
excellent  speech  afforded  me. 

Self.  My  dear  sir,  you  are  too  kind.  My  bill  has  indeed  been 
protested,  but  I  still  indulge  the  hope  that  it  may  yet  be  redeemed  ; 
and,  in  such  an  event,  I, should  have  to  reproach  myself  for  having 
received  a  present  upon  the  mere  supposition  that  my  money  had 
been  lost. 

Mr.  8.  I  wish  most  ardently  you  may  not  be  disappointed  in 
vour  hope ;  the  times,  however,  are  precarious,  the  issue  is  doubt- 
ful, and  I  entreat  you  to  accept  this  small  sum  not  as  a  present, 
but  as  a  well  merited  reward. 


VIPTY    YEARS    IX    THE    LUTHERAN    MIKISTRY,  145 

Self.  Your  dih'interested  benevolence  quite  overcomes  me,  yet  it 
would  not  consist  with  my  principles,  under  existing  circumstances, 
to  take  advantage  of  it.  But,  as  I  am  almost  out  of  money,  I 
would  thankfully  accept  of  your  offer  as  a  loan,  and  will  pledge 
you  my  word  as  a  Christian  that  it  shall  be  honestly  refunded 
to  you. 

Mr.  S.  I  cannot  lend  you  this  money ;  but  as  I  have  also  been 
informed  that  the  object  of  your  tour  is  to  solicit  donations  for  a 
Theological  Seminaiy,  and  as  I  cordially  approve  of  such  institu- 
tions, and  consider  it  the  solemn  duty  of  every  Christian  to  sup- 
port them  to  the  utmost  of  his  ability,  you  surely  cannot  object 
to  receiving  this  trifling  sum  as  my  contribution. 

Self.  Sir,  I  receive  it  with  gratitude,  and  tender  you  the  thanks 
of  the  church,  whose  agent  I  am. 

In  the  meantime  a  neatly  dressed  little  man  had  made  his  ap- 
pearance, and  commenced  taking  my  measure  for  a  suit  of  clothes. 
Mr.  S.  hoped  I  would  not  object  to  this  measure,  and  insisted  on 
my  submitting  without  saying  a  word.  Having  received  an  invi- 
tation to  dine  with  Mr.  S.  next  day,  I  departed,  jDraz'siwr/  God  and 
rejoiciv(/  on  my  way. 

The  next  day  I  dined  with  him,  and  was  treated  by  his  pious 
and  amiable  family  witli  every  mark  of  attention  and  affection. 
In  the  course  of  the  same  day  he  sent  me  a  fine  and  full  suit  of 
black  clothes,  which  at  that  time  my  wardrobe  loudly  called  for. 
During  the  residue  of  my  stay  in  London  I  often  visited  and 
dined  at  the  house  of  this  gentleman,  and  spent  some  of  my  hap- 
piest hours  with  his  family. 

My  purse  being  now  replenished,  I  immediately  settled  my  ac- 
count at  my  boarding  house  and  paid  off  several  other  small  debts 
I  had  contracted,  and  still  had  six  or  seven  guineas*  left.  I  now 
bade  adieu  to  the  dismal  garret,  and  took  boarding  in  a  more 
comfortable  house.  Not  long  afterwards  Dr.  Steinkopff  returned 
rather  unexpectedly,  and  from  this  time  forward  my  prospects 
became  brighter  from  day  to  day.  But  I  have  carried  out  my 
letter  to  a  tedious  length,  and  I  will,  therefore,  forbear  for  the 
present. 

I  will  only  yet  add  that  when  in  Kiel,  about  six  weeks  after- 
wards, I  received  a  letter  from  the  excellent  and  amiable  Mr. 
Jackson,  Secretary  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  com- 
municating the  agreeable  intelligence  that  my  bill  of  exchange 

*  A  guiaea  is  worth  about  five  dollars  of  our  currency 


146  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY. 

had  been  lionored,  and  that  the  money  was  in  his  hands,  subject 
to  my  orders." 

He  again  visited  Europe  in  1846,  and  was  absent  about  six 
months.  He  attended  the  Evangelical  Alliance  in  London,  and 
traveled  extensively  on  the  Continent ;  but  theological  opinion 
in  Germany  had  changed  considerably  since  his  former  visit  in 
1827,  and  Mr.  Ivurtz  found  few  theologians  who  sympathized  with 
him  in  his  unconfessional  views  of  Lutheran  doctrine.  Even  the 
United  and  Reformed  thought  that  a  man  calling  himself  a  Luth- 
eran should  support  the  distinctive  features  of  the  Lutheran  faith. 
Besides  this,  Mr.  Kurtz  had  signed  the  famous  "  Apj^eal,"  which 
had  been  sent  to  Europe,  in  which  genuine  Lutheranism  was  re- 
pudiated, and  this  gave  offence  to  all  classes  of  theologians  as  an' 
act  inconsistent  with  a  profession  of  that  faith,  and  an  assumption 
of  the  name. 


JOHN    CHRISTOPHER   BAKER 

was  born  in  Philadelphia,  May  7th,  1792,  and  in  1802  he  was 
placed  by  his  guardian  at  Nazareth  Hall,  a  seminary  of  the  Mo- 
ravian church,  wliere  he  remained  five  years. 

Many  years  after  some  of  his  school  companions  write  thus  of 
him  :  Says  one,  "  He  was  universally  beloved  by  pupils  and  teach- 
ers, and,  at  that  early  day,  he  was  piously  inclined."  Another 
says,  "  He  was  all  the  time  of  a  meek,  good  natured  and  devo- 
tional temper,  and  endured  injuries  so  meekly  that  he  must  have 
had  truly  pious  parents,  who,  in  early  life,  instilled  into  his  mind 
the  fear  of  God  *****  and  compassion  for  his  fellow 
men." 

At  this  period  of  his  life,  too,  were  manifested  many  of  those 
personal  peculiarities  which  were  so  striking,  and  which  adhered 
to  him  through  life.  "  I  can  still  remember,"  says  another,  "  many 
of  his  earnest  expressions  as  well  as  his  emphatic  gestures.  It 
was  common  among  us  boys  in  our  plays,  when  some  argument  on 
any  subject  took  place,  to  say,  "  Just  look  at  young  Baker  !  How 
he  gesticulates  !" 

Although  so  steady  a  lad,  and  generally  so  correct  in  his  de- 
portment, he  was,  on  a  certain  occasion,  whilst  at  Nazareth,  through 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  147 

the  influence  of  some  rebellious  boys  in  the  school,  inveigled  into 
a  plot  to  resist  rightful  authority,  and  bid  defiance  to  the  rules  of 
the  institution.  But  he  soon  saw  the  wrong  he  had  committed, 
and  was  the  first  voluntarily  to  come  forward,  acknowledge  his 
guilt,  and  implore  forgiveness  and  indulgence.  So  satisfied  was 
he  of  his  error  that,  selfmoved,  he  went  to  his  companions,  ex- 
posed to  them  in  its  proper  light  their  insubordination,  and  ear- 
nestly and  forcibly  showed  the  consequences  that  must  ensue  from 
such  conduct.  The  result  was  that,  desperate  as  some  of  the 
characters  were,  they  were  all  brought  to  submission  by  the  force 
of  his  arguments  and  the  influence  of  his  example.  The  spirit  of 
rebellion  was  at  once  crushed,  and  order  in  the  school  again  re- 
stored. 

Bishop  Reinke  writes,  "  One  afternoon  when,  according  to  my 
custom,  I  withdrew  from  the  noise  and  bustle  of  our  play  ground 
to  the  woods,  to  seek,  in  the  deep  anguish  of  my  heart,  the  Lord 
in  retirement,  I  saw  my  class  mate,  John  C.  Baker,  sitting  on  a 
log,  weeping  bitterly,  and  reading,  as  I  presently  'discovered,  a 
small  revival  hymn  book.  On  looking  up  and  perceiving  that  I 
had  likewise  been  weeping,  he  at  once  inferred  that  I  had  been 
praying,  and  said  he  thought  I  must  be  of  the  same  mind  with 
himself."  These  spiritual  exercises  continued  for  some  time.  He 
remained  in  this  mental  distress  and  under  the  bondage  of  sin  so 
long,  perhaps  from  a  mistaken  idea  he  entertained  of  the  plan  of 
salvation.  But  difliculties  were  subsequently  removed,  the  cloud 
that  rested  upon  him  vanished,  light  beamed  from  the  cross,  and 
by  the  power  of  faith  he  was  enabled  to  embrace  the  Lord  Jesus 
as  his  Saviour.         *****=f:** 

In  the  year  1807  he  was  received  as  a  member  of  Zion's  church, 
Philadelphia,  by  Rev.  John  F.  Schmidt.  On  leaving  the  seminary 
at  Nazareth,  in  1807,  he  soon  after  repaired  to  Lebannon,  Pa.,  for 
the  purpose  of  pursuing  his  theological  studies  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Rev.  Dr.  Lochman.        ****** 

In  the  year  1811  he  was  set  apart  to  the  work  of  the  ministry 
by  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania,  with  which  body  he  remained  con- 
nected until  his  death.  He  immediately  received  a  call  as  an 
assistant  minister  of  the  German  Lutheran  congregations  of  Phil- 
adcljihia,  which  he  accepted,  and  at  once  entered  upon  the  duties 
of  his  appointment.  ******* 

In  the  following  year  ho  accepted  a  unanimous  call  to  the  pas- 
toral charge  of  the  church  in  Germantown. 


148  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

******** 

Almost  at  the  very  commencement  of  liis  career  the  English 

language  was  introduced  into  the  services  of  the  sanctuary,  and, 

although  the  measure  at  first  encountered  opposition,  its  adoption 

was  fraught  with  important   advantages  to  the  interests  of  the 

church.     *****     In  the  year  1818,  under  his 

ausjiices,  the  large  new  church   edifice  was  erected,  which  still 

stands  as  a  monument  of  the  zeal  and  activity  of  the  Pastor. 
********* 

His  remarkable  faithfulness  with  respect  to  pastoral  visiting,  for 
which  he  Avas  always  distinguished,  had  its  beginning  here.  Start- 
ing at  the  Rising-Sun  village,  his  visits  and  labors  included  Nice- 
town,  Germantown,  Chestnut-Hill,  Barren-Hill,  Manayunk,  Eox- 
borough  and  Frankfort.  Although  it  was  no  easy  task  to  perform 
all  this,  yet,  to  say  that  he  personally  called  upon  every  person 
in  the  long  range,  who  belonged  to  or  visited  his  churches,  and 
that  not  only  once  or  occasionally,  but  frequently  and  regularly, 
is  stating  only  the  simple  truth,  without  any  exaggeration.  An 
amusing  incident  in  reference  to  the  Doctor  at  this  period  of  his  min- 
istry is  remembered,  in  which  there  was  a  display  of  more  physical 
courage  than  many  of  his  friends  supposed  he  possessed.  The 
great  turnpike  road  leading  from  Germantown  to  Philadelphia 
was  infested  by  robbers,  who  made  it  their  business  to  stop  and 
plunder  market-wagons  at  the  hill  just  below  the  village,  which 
was,  at  the  time,  a  dark,  deep  and  narrow  defile.  One  evening  he 
reached  the  spot  on  his  way  to  fill  a  preaching  appointment  at 
Nicetown,  and  found  the  road  blocked  up  by  eight  or  nine  farm- 
ers' vehicles,  the  drivers  of  which  were  afraid  to  venture  into  the 
dangerous  part  of  the  road,  lest  an  attack  should  be  made  upon 
them,  and  were  eagerly  waiting  for  some  one  to  take  the  lead. 
This  was  finally  done  by  the  subject  of  our  narrative  driving  in 
advance  in  his  gig,  followed  by  the  courageous  crowd.  They  all 
passed  on  without  any  hostile  encounter.  ******  In 
January,  1828,  as  successor  to  Rev.  Dr.  Endress,  he  assumed  the 
pastoral  care  of  the  church  at  Lancaster.  Here  he  labored  with 
unwearied  assiduity  for  twenty-five  years.  He  introduced  into  his 
church  the  Sunday  School  system,  which  was  yet  a  comparatively 
new  thing  in  our  country.  For  many  years  he  served  as  President 
of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Franklin  College,  and  as  a  Director 
of  the  Public  Schools.     He  was  fond  of  examining  the  children. 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  149 

and  threw  into  the  work  his  whole  soul.  His  visitations  to  the 
schools  were  frequent  -and  systematic.  He  set  apart  one  day  every 
week  to  this  business,  and  always  entered  the  school-room  so  kindly 
with  the  familiar  smile  of  a  father,  that  he  was  ever  a  welcome 
and  grateful  visitor  to  both  teachers  and  pupils.  "  I  was  often 
amused  when  a  visitor  at  his  house,"  says  one  who  was  intimate  in 
the  fomily,  "  to  see  little  boys  and  girls  come  in  for  the  purpose  of 
having  the  Doctor  write  an  excuse  for  the  previous  day's  absence, 
or  for  permission  to  come  home  before  school  hours  were  over  ; 
these  requests  were  never  refused,  but  attended  to  on  the  spot ; 
no  matter  who  was  present,  or  in  what  he  was  engaged,  whether 
at  his  meal,  or  just  ready  to  leave  the  house,  the  little  fellows  were 
never  put  off."         ******** 

So  heavy  and  incessant  were  the  drafts  that  had  been  made 
upon  Dr.  Baker,  that  his  physical  constitution,  naturally  vigorous, 
began  at  length  to  yield.  His  health  became  impaired  under 
the  pressure  of  his  manifold  duties,  and  he  concluded  that  it  was 
advisable  to  resign  the  large  field  of  labor  which  had  long  claimed 
his  unwearied  attention.  He  accordingly  preached  his  A'aledic- 
tory  discourse,  January  30th,  1853,  and  removed  to  Philadelphia ; 
but,  as  he  could  not  endure  the  idea  of  being  idle,  he  was  willing 
to  take  charge  of  a  small  Mission  Church  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  city. 

He  died  in  May,  1859,  aged  sixty-eight  years.  His  dying  tes- 
timony was  all  of  the  most  satisfactory  and  consolatory  character. 
His  children,  whom  he  tenderly  loved,  and  by  whose  presence 
and  attentions  he  was  soothed,  he  fervently  commended  "  to  the 
care  and  covenant-keeping  of  his  Heavenly  Father,"  and  earnestly 
urged  them  to  "  abound  in  love  and  glory  to  God."  On  one  occasion 
when  asked  if  he  was  comfortable,  he  replied,  "  I  might  be  more 
so,"  but  added,  "  We  count  them  happy  that  endure."  The  after- 
noon previous  to  his  death,  when  apparently  much  distressed  by 
difficulty  of  breathing,  one  of  his  children  remarked,  "Jesus  said. 
My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee  I  "  With  a  smile  he  replied,  "  Yes  ! 
Oh  !  I  hope  " — but  he  could  say  no  more.     ****** 

In  looking  at  Dr.  Baker's  jiublic  character,  the  first  thing  that 
strikes  us  is  the  earnestness,  the  enthusiastic  ardor  with  which  he 
took  hold  of  every  subject  that  engaged  his  attention.  He  was 
scrupuloui=lr  conscientious  in  fulfilling  every  known  obligation, 
and  labored  with  indefatigable  zeal,  untiring  activity  and  self- 

10 


150  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

sacrificing  industry,  constantly  illustrating  in  his  life  the  Saviour's 
motto,  "I  must  work  while  it  is  day;  the  night  cometh  when  no 
man  can  work  !"  He  was  emphatically  a  working  man,  battling 
on  in  the  good  cause  to  which  he  had  consecrated  his  powers  year 
after  yetxr,  through  good  and  through  evil  repoi't,  in  season  and 
out  of  season,  eminently  striving  to  be  useful  to  his  fellow  men. 
Bishop  Reinke,  of  the  Moravian  Church,  who  was,  for  a  time,  his 
colleague  at  Lancaster,  once  attempted  to  remonstrate  with  him 
in  reference  to  his  course,  but  without  elFect.  "  It  was  the  doc- 
tor's custom,"  says  the  bishop,  "  to  preach  three  times  every  Sab- 
bath. I, 'therefore,  took  the  liberty  one  day  of  reasoning  with 
him  on  the  propriety  and  necessity  of  diminishing  these  excessive 
labors,  inasmuch  as  they  would,  if  continued,  break  down  his  con- 
stitution before  the  time.  But  in  reply  he  became  quite  warm 
and  animated,  and,  hastily  rising  from  his  seat,  pacing  up  and 
down  the  room,  and  throwing  his  long  arms  lustily  around  him, 
exclaimed,  "No,  I  tell  you,  my  dear  brother,  I  must  work  while 
it  is  called  to-day  I  I  must  spend  and  be  spent  in  the  cause  of  my 
blessed  master !"  *  '^  *  *  *  *  *  * 
Nothing  could  deter  him  from  a  mission  of  love  and  piety.  In- 
disposition never  interfered  with  the  performance  of  any  pastoral 
obligation.  Physical  infirmities  were  never  presented  as  a  plea 
for  the  neglect  of  duty,  fie  was  known  to  ride  or  drive  miles  in 
storms,  through  rain  and  snow,  to  hold  a  meeting  for  prayer  or  to 
attend  to  the  ordinary  services  of  the  Lord's  Day,  when  no  one  of 
all  the  congregation,  not  even  the  sexton,  ventured  out  of  doors. 
He  had  no  sympathy  with  those  who  found  it  too  hot  or  too  cold 
or  too  stormy  to  attend  church.  He  could  go  to  j^i'each,  why  not 
they  to  listen  ?  He  would  notice  those  who  were  absent  from  the 
exercises  of  the  sanctuary,  and  invariably  called  on  them  the  fol- 
lowing day,  and  inquired  into  the  cause  of  their  absence.  The 
marriages  he  solemnized,  the  baptisms  and  funeral  services  he 
performed,  are,  perhaps,  without  a  parallel,  in  the  history  of  any 
pastor.  The  Doctor  also  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  religious  in- 
struction of  the  children  of  the  church,  and,  in  addition  to  three 
services  on  the  Lord's  Day,  whilst  settled  at  Lancaster,  he  also 
attended  the  Sunday  School.  He  also  had  a  Bible  class,  composed 
of  the  teachers  and  older  scholars,  which  he  met  weekly,  and  im- 
parted careful  instruction  in  the  lesson  for  the  succeeding  Sabbath. 
In  addition,  during  the  week,  two  evenings  were  generally  spent 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  151 

in  lecturing,  and  sometimes,  when  lie  had  classes  of  catechumens, 
which  were  formed  regularly  twice  every  year,  four  evenings  were 
devoted  to  public  services  for  the  benefit  of  his  people.  The  work 
never  seemed  to  him  irksome.         *  *  *  *  * 

As  a  preacher  Dr.  Baker  was  plain,  practical  and  edifying.  He 
adhered  closely  to  the  text,  and  presented  a  simple  exposition  of 
God's  word,  a  clear  and  full  exhibition  of  the  way  of  life.  "  Un- 
der his  impressive  and  persuasive  appeals,"  says  one  who  often 
heard  him  preach,  "I  have  seen -the  entire  audience  melted  to 
tears."  He  never  introduced  anything  flippant  or  irrelevant  into 
the  pulpit.  In  his  preparations  for  the  pulpit  he  was  very  labo- 
rious, particularly  at  that  period  of  his  ministry  when  he  was  in 
the  habit  of  committing  his  sermons  to  memory.  His  texts  were 
usually  selected  on  Sunday  night,  after  his  return  from  the  church, 
and  the  preparation  was  protracted  till  the  close  of  the  week ;  so 
that,  in  connection  with  the  toil  to  which  he  submitted,  he  was 
often  heard  to  say,  "  I  have  no  pleasure  of  my  life.  *  * 
He  was  familiar  wath  the  best  German  and  English  w^riters  in 
Theology,  and  was  regarded  as  W'ell  read  in  the  substantial  liter- 
ature of  the  day.  The  Bible  was,  however,  the  book  which  he 
carefully  and  faithfully  studied.  He  also  had  some  skill  as  a 
musician.  Pie  played  very  creditably  upon  the  piano.  He  often 
played  duetts  with  his  daughters,  and  one  of  them  received  her 
entire  musical  instruction  from  him.  He  seldom  wrote  for  the 
press.  The  only  discourse  he  ever  furnished  for  publication  is  a 
sermon  on  the  death  of  Rev.  Dr.  Frederick  D.  SchaefTer.  The 
Doctorate  of  Divinity  was  conferred  upon  him  by  Lafayette  Col- 
lege in  1837.  ******** 
He  was  a  leading  member  of  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania,  and  his 
power  was  felt  among  the  members  in  private  and  on  the  floor  in 
Svnod.  *  *•*  *  *  *  *  *  * 
At  Synod  he  was  always  willing  to  work  when  others  were  dis- 
po.sed  to  ask  a  dispensation  from  labor.  He  was  repeatedly  elected 
by  his  brethren  to  oflices  of  honor  and  trust.  He  served  for  many 
years  as  Treasurer  of  the  Synod,  and  his  accounts  were  kept  with 
the  most  rigid  exactness.  As  President  of  the  body  he  was  dis- 
tinguished for  industry  and  zeal,  impartiality  and  vigor.  *  * 
He  was  regarded  as  the  life  and  the  soul  of  the  Synod.  He  gen- 
erally expressed  his  convictions  with  great  animation,  and  always 
secured  the  attention  of  the  House.     His  speeches  were  delivered 


152  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

witli  peculiar  earnestness  and  characteristic  vehemence,  ;md,  when 
there  was  any  unjDleasant  excitement  or  acrimony  of  spirit  mani- 
fested, he  would  usually  restore  good  humor,  and  pour  oil  on  the 
troubled  waters.  In  Synod  he  had  many  an  earnest  contest  in  his 
advocacy  of  the  General  Synod.  Several  times  he  was  defeated 
in  his  efforts  to  secure  a  re-union  with  that  body,  but  he  never 
despaired  of  ultimate  success. 

He  was  also  often  very  absent-minded.  Some  ludicrous  inci- 
dents are  told  of  his  going  out  with  a  torn  coat,  worn  in  his  study, 
to  make  visits,  and  not  observing  his  mistake  until  he  was  some 
distance  from  home,  or  had  already  entered  the  huuse  of  his  host. 
He  would  frequently  likewise  pass  along  the  streets,  apparently  ab- 
sorbed in  thought  or  some  profound  mental  process,  unconscious 
of  what  was  transpiring  around  him,  his  hand  all  the  time  in  con- 
stant action  as  he  moved  around  with  his  long  cane,  his  constant 
attendant.  He  disliked  exceedingly  to  be  called  "old,"  and  any 
allusion  to  "  aged  servant "  in  the  public  prayers  of  other  clergy- 
men was  very  annoying.  When  he  was  President  of  the  Directors 
of  Public  Schools  in  Lancaster,  Hon.  James  Buchanan  was  associ- 
ated with  him  in  the  Board,  and  frequently,  when  speaking  of 
him  or  addressing  him,  would  playfully  say,  "  the  old  gentleman," 
"  the  venerable  Doctor,"  etc.  But  the  thing  was  not  relished  by 
the  subject  of  our  sketch,  who  remembered  it  some  years  after- 
wards, and  returned  the  compliment.  When  Mr.  Buchanan  became 
a  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  his  age,  of  course,  transpired,  and 
just  after  the  election,  the  two  old  friends  unexpectedly  met  in  a 
Daguerreian  Room  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  The  Doctor  seized 
the  President  by  the  hand,  in  his  earnest,  emj)hatic  manner,  and, 
by  no  means  in  a  whisper,  said,  "  Well,  Mr.  Buchanan,  how  are 
you.  Sir?  Well,  Sir,  when  you  and  I  used  to  meet  in  Lancaster, 
years  ago,  you  often  spoke  of  me  as  the  "  old  gentleman,"  '  Sir, 
but  I  find  now,  Sir,  that  you  are  just  one  year  older  than  I  am, 
Sir  ! '  "  Mr.  Buchanan  laughed,  and  said  it  wa?  a  great  mistake 
on  his  part  to  let  his  age  become  so  public. 

HE  RECEIVKS  A  COMPI-I.MENT. 

We  were  present,  on  another  occasion,  when  the  topic  of  con- 
versation was,  the  compliments,  deserved  or  undeserved,  which 
partial  parishioners  are  prone  to  pay  their  ministers.  "Well," 
said  the  Doctor,  with  characteristic  symplicity  and  vehemency  of 


FIFTY    YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  153 

gesture,  "  whether  my  people  have  been  backward  in  the  expres- 
sion of  their  good  opinions,  or  whether  they  have  feared  flattery 
would  spoil  me,  I  know  not,  but  it  has,  somehow,  so  happened, 
that  my  modesty  has  never  been  put  to  any  severe  test  by  over- 
many  compliments.  But  I  did  once  receive  one,  which  I  have 
never  forgotten.     On  my  way  home  from  church,  on  a  Sunday 

morning,  after  German   preaching,  Airs ,  a  plain  and  very 

pious  old  lady,  who  for  more  than  forty  years  had  been  a  consis- 
tent member  of  the  Lancaster  church,  walked  a  short  distance  by 
my  side,  and  took  occasion  to  say  to  me  :  "  Well,  Doctor,  this 
morning  you  have  once  again  faithfully  expounded  the  Gospel  of 
our  loving  Lord  and  Saviour,  and  most  heartily  do  I  thank  you 
for  it."  "  That,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  that  was  to  me  the  most  wel- 
come compliment  I  have  ever  x-eceived,  for  I  knew  the  old  lady  to 
be  sincere,  and  that  she  meant  what  she  said.  She  did  not,  you 
see,  compliment  me  for  my  learning,  or  my  eloquence,  or  for  any- 
thing else  I  do  not  possess,  but  she  gave  me  the  nobler  praise  of 
being  a  faithful  Minintcr  of  the  Neu)  Testament,  and  higher  ambi- 
tion than  that,  in  this  world,  Lhave  none." 

RT.   REV.   KISHOP  BAKEH. 

He  was,  whilst  Pastor  in  Lancaster,  on  the  most  intimate  terms 
with  Rev.  Dr.  Bowman,  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  the  present  as- 
sistant Bishop  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  and  there  existed  a 
strong  feeling  of  mutual  attachment.  They  frequently  inter- 
changed visits  and  seemed  to  enjoy  each  other's  society.  But  the 
Doctor  could  never  endure  the  arrogant  pretensions  of  those  in  the 
Episcopal  Church,  who  were  constantly  asserting  that  tJicir  church 
was  the  only  true  Church,  and  Iter  ministers  the  only  genuine  suc- 
ce.ssors  of  the  Apostles.  "  I  have  often  heard  him,"  says  one,  who 
often  saw  them  together,  propose  the  enquiry  to  the  Bishop,  "  Do 
you  know,  Sir,  who  I  am  ?  I  will  tell  you,  Sir ;  I  am  the  Rt.  Rev. 
John  C.  Baker,  Bishop  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Congregation 
of  the  Holy  Trinity  Church,  Lancaster !  "  and,  whilst  saying  this, 
he  would  rise  from  his  chair  and  walk  up  and  down  the  room  with 
great  earnestness,  but  he  never  exhibited  any  bitterness  in  his 
spirit,  or  unkindness  in  his  manner. 

He  usually  had,  during  the  year,  more  weddings  than  all  the 
other  clergymen  together.     But  in  consequence  o'f  his  cordial  in- 


154  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

terest  and  active  efforts  in  the  Temperance  moverDent,  lie  alienated 
from  him  many  of  the  landlords,  all  of  them,  too,  respectable  men, 
and  consequently  there  was  a  great  diminution  in  the  number  of 
his  marriages,  the  tavern-keepers  sending  for  other  clergymen  not 
favorable  to  the  reform,  or  not  prominent  in  supporting  it. 

UNPREMEDITATED  PREACHING. 

In  a  company  of  brethren,  the  conversation  turned  on  the 
straits  to  which  ministers  are  occasionally  subjected  when  required 
to  preach  without  having  any  time  for  preparation.  In  this  connec- 
tion. Dr.  Baker  related  the  following :  "  I  was  once  called,  on  a  Wed- 
nesday afternoon,  to  officiate  at  a  funeral,  a  few  miles  out  of  Lan- 
caster. The  undertaker  was  painfully  slow  in  his  movements,  and, 
quite  unexpectedly  to  me,  it  was  night  before  we  got  back  to  the 
city.  Without  having  had  time  to  take  my  tea,  or  even  to  return 
to  my  house,  I  was  obliged  to  hurry  to  the  church,  to  officiate  at 
the  Wednesday  evening  service.  But,  alas,  I  liad  no  text  to  lec- 
ture, no  skeleton,  not  even  a  subject.  When  I  came  to  the  chui-ch, 
the  people  had  already  assembled.  I  purposely  gave  out  a  long 
hymn  (seven  verses),  that  I  might  have  time  to  select  at  least  a 
text  for  my  lecture.  But  the  harder  I  tried,  the  greater  was  my 
perplexity.  As  a  Scrij)ture  lesson,  I  selected  one  of  the  longest 
chapters  in  the  New  Testament,  thinking,  of  course,  I  would  hit 
upon  a  suitable  verse,  but  failed.  Then  followed  the  opening 
prayer,  and  never  did  I  so  stand  in  need  of  God's  forgiveness,  be- 
cause of  my  wandering  and  distracted  thoughts,  for  I  was  thinking 
of  my  lecture.  My  second  hymn  was  as  long  as  the  first,  and 
again,  during  the  singing,  I  emjDloyed  my  time  in  looking  up  a 
text.  And  now,  my  heart  palpitated,  and  my  knees  shook. 
When,  lo,  just  as  the  last  verse  of  the  second  hymn  was  being 
sung — still  conning  over  the  leaves  of  my  Bible — my  eye  fell  upon 
Xahum,  chapter  i,  verse  7  :  "  The  Lord  is  good,  a  strong-hold  in 
the  dag  of  trouble,  and  he  knoweth  them  that  trust  in  him."  On 
these  words,"  continued  the  Doctor,  "  I  began  to  discourse.  At 
first  it  was  an  u2D-hill  business,  for  when  one  sentence  Avas  out,  I 
knew  not  what  the  next  was  to  be.  But,  behold,  I  had  not  pro- 
ceeded very  far,  when  my  Heavenly  Father  02:»ened  to  me  a  door 
of  latterance.  Thoughts  came  into  my  mind  unbidden.  My 
tongue  was  loosed,  and  for  three-quarters  of  an  hour  did  I  dis- 
course on  those  words  with  a  fluency  and  fervor  such  as  I  had 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  155 

never  before  experienced,  and  I  could,  without  difficulty,  have 
spoken  on  them  twice  as  long,  for  the  trouble  with  me  now,  was, 
to  know  when  to  stop.  Best  of  all,  after  I  had  finished,  two  ladies, 
clad  in  mourning,  approached  me,  extending  their  hands,  and 
thanked  me  for  the  words  of  comfort  I  had  spoken,  saying,  no 
doubt,  I  "  hs.^  prepared  that  discourse  expressly  for  tJieir  benefit !  " 
The  Doctor's  answer  was  characteristically  honest :  "  Ladies,  if 
that  discourse  has  proved  a  comfort  to  you,  you  are  heartily  wel- 
come, for,  I  assure  you,  it  was  not  studied  or  prejriared  at  all." 
"  And  now,"  continued  the  Doctor,  "  does  not  this  incident  teach 
us,  brethren,  that  God  often  leaves  us  to  ourselves,  that  out  of  our 
weakness  He  may  perfect  His  strength,  and  do  we  not  perceive, 
that,  without  at  all  justifying  indolence  or  inditi'erence,  our  ser- 
mons would  yet,  as  a  general  rule,  be  far  more  eloquent  and  eirec- 
tive,  if  we  depended  more  v.pon  God,  and  less  vpon  ourselves." 
And,  without  controversy,  the  Doctor  spake  wisely. 


BENJAMIN    KELLER 

was  born  in  Lancaster,  Pa.,  March  4th,  1794.  He  was  con- 
firmed by  Rev.  Dr.  H.  E.  Muhlenberg,  and  soon  after  felt 
a  strong  desire  to  devote  himself  to  the  ministry.  His  clas- 
sical and  theological  studies,  in  preparation  for  the  work,  were 
pursued  at  Frederick,  Md.,  and  Lancaster,  Pa.,  under  the  direction 
of  Kev.  Dr.  D.  F.  SchaefFer,  and  his  revered  and  beloved  pastor. 
Dr.  Muhlenberg.  On  the  comiDletion  of  his  course,  in  1814,  before 
he  had  reached  his  twenty-first  year,  he  was  commissioned  by  the 
Synod  of  Pennsylvania  to  preach  the  gospel,  and,  at  once,  entered 
upon  the  duties  of  the  pastoral  office.  His  first  charge  was  Car- 
lisle, Pa.  Here  he  labored  with  zeal  and  fidelity  for  thirteen  years, 
in  serving  eight  congregations  and  performing  an  amount  of  ser- 
vice that  seems  almost  incredible.  Li  1827  he  received  and 
accepted  a  call  to  the  associated  churches  of  Germantown,  Barren- 
Hill  and  AVhitc-Marsh,  where  he  continued  for  seven  years.  In 
1834  he  engaged  in  the  service  of  the  Parent  Education  Society. 
But  his  preferences  for  the  pastoral  office  were  so  decided  that 
after  a  brief  and  successful  mission,  he  determined  to  resume  the 


156  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

work,  aiid  accepted  a  call  as  Pastor  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in 
Gettysburg.     Here  he  continued  to  exercise  his  office  for  seventeen 
years.      The  relationship  was  terminated  in  consequence  of  the 
urgent  desire  of  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania  to  secure  his  services 
in  its  effort  to  endow  a  German  Professorship  in  the  Institutions 
at  Gettysburg.      The  funds  required  were  procured  and    warm 
friends  secured  wherever   his  labors  extended.      The  enterprise 
having  been  accomj^lished  he  settled  in  Philadelphia  and  devoted 
his  time  and  energies  to  the   German  population  in    the  north- 
eastern part  of  the  city.     The  effort  was  crowned  with  remarkable 
success,  and  the  result  was  the  organization  of  the  large  and  pros- 
perous congregation  of  St.  James,  and  the  speedy  erection  of  a 
beautiful  and  substantial  church  edifice.     But  his  physical  strength 
was  found  inadequate  for  so_  extensive  a  field ;  he  therefore  with- 
drew, that  another  might  enter  into  his  labors.     He  did  not,  how- 
ever, retire  to  rest.     His  active  habits  would  not  permit  him  to 
remain  unemployed.     He  cheerfully  yielded  to  the  wishes  of  the 
Lutheran  Board  of  Publication,  and  undertook  a  general  agency 
and  superintendence  of  its  interests.     His  services,  so  faithfully- 
rendered,  have  identified  his  name  permanently  with  this  Institu- 
tion.    He  visited  many  of  our  churches,  interested  in  the  work 
pastors  and  people,  whose  confidence  and  affections  he  enjoyed  in 
a  high  degree,  collected  funds,  suggested  and  secured  the  publi- 
cation of  some  of  the  most  valuable  and  popular  books  the  Society 
has  issued,  and  continued  its  General  Superintendent  till  his  death, 
remained  in  the  position  by  the  unanimous  wish  of  the  Board,  even 
when  the  state  of  his  health  allowed  him  to  give  to  the  work  only 
his  wise  and  faithful  counsels.     During  the  last  two  years  of  his 
life,  when  unable  to  travel  through  the  Church,  he  Avas  anxious  to 
serve  his  Master  by  preaching  the  Gosj)el,  and  for  a  season,  feeble 
as  he  was,  regularly  performed  missionary  labor  for  a    German 
congregation,  at  Germantown.     Until  the  last,  the  master-spirit 
of  his  life  was  strong ;  the  desire  of  his  heart  was  to  be  useful,  to 
labor  for  the  advancement  of  the  great  work,  to  which,  in  his 
early  years,  he  had  consecrated  his  powers.     He  died  July  2d, 
1864,  in  the  seventy-first  year  of  his  age,  and  after  a  service  of 
fifty  years  in  the  Gospel  ministry.     They  laid  his  remains  in  the 
cemetery  of  St.  Michael's  Church,  Germantown,  once  the  scene  of 
his  active  labors. 

As  a  pastor  he  stood  in  the  very  foremost  rank,  a  model  of  dil- 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTIIERAX    MINISTRY.  157 

igence,  fidelity  and  wisdom,  in  the  discharge  of  his  diversified 
duties  an  example  of  earnest  and  laborious  roil.  He  never  filled 
a  pastoral  charge,  or  assumed  any  position  with  which  a  benedic- 
tion was  not  connected. 

As  an  agent  he  had  also  superior  qualifications.  This  was  seen 
in  his  good  judgment,  singular  prudence,  moderation  and  patience, 
as  well  as  in  the  simplicity  of  his  manners,  the  absence  of  every 
thing  that  looked  like  ostentation,  his  kindness  and  dignity,  and 
his  respect  for  all  the  proprieties  of  social  life. 

In  private  life  there  was  much  that  Avas  attractive  in  Mr.  Kel- 
ler's character.  He  was  stern  yet  kind  and  gentle.  He  possessed 
great  tenderness  of  spirit,  a  heart  overflowing  with  the  warmest 
sympathies.  His  life  w^as  marked  by  all  the  amenities  which 
adorn  the  Christian  character,  beautiful  and  consistent,  never,  in 
his  intercourse  ..with  others,  conniving  at  wrong  or  indulging  in 
the  aimle.ss  jest  or  the  idle  word.  Careful  to  a  fault  not  to  give 
the  least  trouble  to  his  friends,  always  faithful  to  every  interest 
commiited  to  his  trust,  his  example  will  never  be  forgotten. 
Among  the  more  prominent  traits  of  his  character  was  his  un- 
swerving integrity  ;  a  rigid  adherence  to  what  he  regarded  as 
right,  a  steadfast  maintenance  of  the  truth.  No  considerations  of 
present  advantage,  or  expediency,  or  worldly  prudence  could  carry 
him  aw-ay  from  what  he  believed  to  be  the  path  of  duty.  Nothing 
could  tempt  him,  nothing  appal  him,  nothing  divert  him  from  his 
purpose.  However  great  the  personal  sacrifice,  he  would  never 
abandon  his  honest  convictions.  He  was  a  man  of  great  intrepi- 
dity, quite  above  what,  on  a  superficial  acquaintance,  might  have 
been  imagined.  This  was  particularly  seen  when  great  principles 
were  involved,  or  the  interests  of  the  church,  as  he  supposed,  were 
imperiled.  Pie  was  distinguished  for  his  habits  of  industry  which 
led  him  to  fill  up  his  whole  time  with  something  useful,  to  "  gather 
up  the  fragments  that  nothing  should  be  lost."  He  allowed  him- 
self no  vacant  hours.  He  seemed  always  to  be  about  his  Father's 
busine.ss.  Yet  his  labors  were  so  methodically  arranged,  that  he 
never  appeared  to  be  in  a  hurry,  or  at  a  luss  to  decide  what  sub- 
ject should  next  claim  his  attention.  He  was  most  exact  in  fulfill- 
ing all  his  engagements.  It  was  strange  to  find  him  a  minute  after 
time  when  an  appointment  had  been  made.  Punctuality  he  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  cardinal  virtues.  With  his  unfailing  industry 
was  closely  connected  great  energy,  a  resolute  will,  an  earnest  and 


158  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LTITHERAN    MINISTRY. 

heroic  perseverance  that  never  yielded  to  any  obstacle  that  was 
not  absolutely  insuperable.  He  Avas,  also,  remarkable  for  his  be- 
nevolence. His  heart  and  his  hand  were  always  extended  to  the 
relief  of  human  suffering.  Those  who  were  brought  into  the  most 
intimate  relations  with  him  were  often  struck  with  the  fact,  that 
he  was  constantly  desirous  of  ministering  to  the  comfort  of  others, 
of  relieving  human  suffering  and  of  subserving  a  good  cause. 
There  is  no  enlarged  enterprise,  or  benevolent  scheme  in  which 
the  Lutheran  Church  has  been  engaged  for  the  last  forty  years, 
in  connection  with  which  he  did  not  occupy  a  prominent  place 
and  exercise  a  controlling  influence.  His  devotion  to  the  church 
was  unfaltering  and  earnest.  As  a  Director  of  the  Theological 
Seminary,  a  Trustee  of  Pennsylvania  College,  a  member  of  the 
Executive  Committee  of  the  Parent  Education  Society,  as  Pres- 
ident of  the  Lutheran  Board  of  Publication,  or  as  Secretary,  or 
President  of  Synod,  he  was  always  found  at  the  post  of  duty,  and 
prompt  to  render  the  required  service. 

But  the  crowning  excellence  of  his  character  was  his  consistent, 
fervent  and  active  piety.  Religion  was  with  him  an  all-pervading 
principle,  exercising  an  influence  over  his  whole  life,  his  convic- 
tions, his  feelings  and  his  actions.  He  had  no  sympathy  with 
fanaticism  or'  extravagance,  but  in  all  his  views  and  demonstra- 
tions he  was  calm,  intelligent  and  decided  ;  there  was  a  simplicity, 
an  earnestness  in  whatever  he  said  or  did  that  made  it  evident  to 
every  one  that  he  was  more  than  an  ordinary  Christian,  a  good 
man  who  daily  Avalked  with  God  and  lived  in  charity  with  his 
brethren.  "  No  man,"  says  one*  who  knew  him  well,  "  could  more 
thoroughly  sanctify  all  his  gifts  :  he  lived  and  gave,  as  one  Avho 
believed  that  all  he  was  and  all  he  had,  belonged  to  Christ. 
Feeble  in  body,  he  was  more  abundant  in  labor  than  tlie  strong ; 
unpretending  in  all  things,  his  steady  light  shone,  while  meteor 
after  meteor  dazzling  for  a  while  went  out  in  forgetfulness ;  and 
when  growing  years  increased  his  bodily  infirmities,  he  still  more 
than  coped  in  toil  and  success  with  the  young.  Love  and  rever- 
ence waited  on  his  steps.  It  is  hard  to  prize  such  a  man  enough, 
but  if  a  universal  and  enthusiastic  affection  on  the  part  of  our 
ministers  and  people  could  add  anything  to  the  joy  of  one  who 
had,  as  he  had,  the  approval  of  his  conscience  and  of  his  God,  he 
enjoyed  it  to  the  full.  His  Christian  graces,  his  perfect  geniality 
and  amenity,  his  refined  and  unfailing  consideration  for  the  rights 

*llcv.  Dr.  Krauth,  of  Philadelphia. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  159 

and  feelings  of  others  made  him  very  dear  to  all  who  knew  him  ; 
the  aged  and  the  young  alike  enjoyed  his  presence."  "  Thy  life," 
adds  another*  who  for  several  years  sustained  to  him  the  relation 
of  Pastor,  "  was  not  in  vain  !  It  was  modest,  active,  careful,  har- 
monious, symmetrical  and  consecrated  to  God.  We  would  not 
call  thee  back.  Thou  hast  fought  a  good  fight;  thou  hast  fini.'^hed 
thy  course;  thou  hast  kept  the  faith.  Thou  art  at  rest,  and  Ave 
Avill  hold  thee  in  everlasting  remembrance  !  " 

SOME  UECOLLECTIONS  OF  KEV.  B.   KEI,I>EH,  BY  J.   K.   PMTT. 

1.  "Slow  and  sure."  He  was  pre-eminently  so.  He  neither 
talked,  walked  or  drove  at  a  break-neck  rate;  but  he  cou'd  gen- 
erally be  depended  upon,  and  would  come  out  all  right  in  the  end. 
If  he  had  a  journey  to  make  with  horse  and  buggy  by  a  yniform 
"jogging  along,"  he  w-ould  make  "good  time."  Four  miles  an 
hour  was  about  his  rate  of  .speed.  He  was  not  exacting  in  his 
demands  of  his  faithful  beast.  If  he  but  "kept  moving,"  the  bill 
was  filled.  The  result  w-as  generally  "a  good  day's  journey." 
Between  himself  and  his  beast  there  used  to  be  "  a  perfect  under- 
standing," so  that  the  proprieties  of  the  relation  w'ere  seldom 
outraged.  The  Avhip  was  not  spared,  however,  when  occasion  re- 
quired its  use.  "  Want  of  style"  might  easily  have  been  charged 
to  his  "  get  up  '  for  traveling  purposes. 

He  walked  as  he  drove,  not  at  a  "  two-forty  "  rate.  You  never 
could  see  Im  coat-tail  standing  out  in  a  horizontal  line  because  of 
his  rapidity  of  motion  ! 

He  talked  deliberately  too.  I  suppose  he  remembered  tJte  sol- 
emn lesson  in  the  spelling-book,  contained  in  the  reason  given  for 
one  having  txvo  ears  and  one  mouth  !  He  thought  before  he  sjwke. 
And  when  he  had  anything  to  say  in  Synod,  in  Church  Boards, 
in  Committee,  &c  ,  he  would  insist  on  being  heard.  You  could 
not  "choke  him  off"  by  any  "previous  question"  or  any  "gag- 
law  "  arrangement.  He  was  very  tenacious  of  his  rights,  the 
right  of  speech  especially.  And  his  views,  when  expressed,  were 
generally  found  to  be  worth  something.  He  was  very  positive  in 
his  convictions,  and  firm  when  he  took  a  stand. 

2.  Punctuality  was  a  cardinal  virtue  w'ith  him.  If  he  was  not 
on  hand  according  to  arrangement  something  extraordinary  was 
the  matter.  The  congregation  did  not  have  to  wait  for  him.  Com- 
mittee business  did  not  lag  for  any  failure  of  his  to  be  present  at 

♦Rev.  Dr.  Krotel,  of  Philadelphia. 


IGO  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY. 

the  appointed  hour.  He  could  be  depended  upon  for  the  fulfill- 
ment of  an  engagement.  His  promises  were  Avorth  much  more 
than  those  of  many  other  men,  even  good  men,  too,  for  some  of 
these  latter,  alas,  are  often  "  behind  time."  I  owe  a  debt  of  grat- 
itude to  the  "dear  old  father"  for  impressing  on  my  own  mind, 
in  my  student  days  at  Gettysburg,  the  importance  of  the  principle, 
"  Pay  as  you  go."  At  the  beginning  of  my  active  life  I  began  to 
conform  to  that  rule,  and,  by  keeping  on  in  so  doing  through  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  I  have  escaped  many  of  the  ills  which  worry 
many  a  poor  i'ellow  almost  to  death.  To  my  honored  old  uncle  I 
have  been  in  the  habit  of  ascribing  much  of  the  credit  of  the 
comfort  I  have  thus  enjoyed.  I  have  not  forgotten  the  advice 
"iven  with  so  much  earnestness  and  sincerity,  nor  wall  I  ever  for- 
get it.  "John,  keep  out  of  debt — pay  as  you  go,"  are  words  of 
my  uncle  that  have  been  inefiaceably  engraven  on  my  memory. 

3.  Projniety  in  religious  duly  and  service  he  was  ever  careful  to 
insist  upon.  His  ideas  of  what  was' proper  might  seem  old-fash- 
ioned sometimes,  but  they  generally  had  a  good  foundation.  I 
remember  that  he  happened  at  my  home  once,  w^hen,  having  a 
babe  to  be  baptized,  w-e  were  glad  to  have  him  perform  the  service. 
In  our  own  house,  in  a  quiet  way,  the  preparations  were  made  ; 
but  they  were  only  complete  when  the  mother  put  a  honnet  on  her 
head  !  The  idea  seemed  to  be  that  a  woman  should  not  take  part 
in  a  religious  service  with  uncovered  head.  I  also  remember  that 
when  the  meeting  of  teachers  of  his  Sunday  School  was  held  at 
private  houses,  from  week  to  week,  during  my  student  days  at 
Gettysburg,  it  was  necessary  for  the  female  of  the  house  to  jmt  on 
a  bonnet.  The  lady  teachers  all  kept  theirs  on,  and  bonnets  w'ere 
something  in  those  days  !  The  loomans  head  must  he  covered  w^as 
a  regulation  well  understood  by  those  who  took  part  in  religious 
services  which  he  conducted.  Any  improprieties  in  the  worship 
of  the  sanctuary  were  especially  repugnant  to  his  feelings.  He 
had  a  stern,  emphatic  w-ay  of  rebuking  them.  Few  men  could 
put  more  of  the  expression  of  righteous  indignation  into  their 
looks  than  he.  He  could  make  a  wrong-doer  quail  by  his  frown, 
aside  from  the  word  of  reproof. 

4.  He  WIS  scrupulously  jealous  of  Ids  good  name.  He  believed 
what  Solomon  says  about  a  good  name.  He  had  such  a  name  and 
he  prized  it  highly.  He  was  very  prompt  to  follow  up  any  impu- 
tations on  his  character.     I  remember  that  when  he  was  canvassing 


riFTY    YEARS    IX    TFIE    Ll'TnERAN    MINISTRY.  161 

for  the  Publication  Society  at  Ea,«ton  and  in  the  neighborhood,  it 
came  to  his  ears  that  a  certain  pers^on  had  made  some  remarks  re- 
flecting upon  his  Jionesty.  He  was  very  much  exercised  about  it. 
He  sj^oke  with  much  feeling  about  it  wliilst  tarrying  wilh  me  in 
my  Jersey  home  near  Easton.  And  lie  could  give  himself  no  rest 
until  he  traced  the  thing  up  to  its  source,  and  compelled  the  of- 
fender to  retract  his  charge,  and  to  do  all  he  could  to  rectify  the 
Avrong.  It  was  not  a  safe  business  for  any  one  to  take  "  undue 
liberties  "  with  the  name  and  character  of  the  good  old  father. 
He  was  ever  ready  to  vindicate  himself,  and,  should  it  ever  have 
become  necessary,  I  doubt  not  he  would  have  appealed  to  the  law 
for  defence.  A  slanderer  of  him  would  not  be  long  in  finding 
out  that  he  had  got  into  very  "  hot  water."  His  good  name  was 
of  far  more  account,  in  his  estimation,  than  gold  or  silver. 

5.  His  jyerseverance  was  reviarlxible.  He  had  a  great  deal  of 
that  virtue  which  displays  itself  in  "holding  on."  He  took  "a 
good  grip,"  and  he  "  stuck  to  it."  When,  amid  many  infirmities, 
and  with  not  a  little  discomfort  to  himself,  he  traveled  about 
among  the  churches,  as  agent  for  benevolent  operations  and 
works,  he  "kept  at  it"  with  such  determination  as  not  many  of 
our  agents,  before  or  since,  have  shown.  Impressed,  himself,  with 
a  sense  of  the  imjDortance  of  his  work,  he  felt  that  others  must  see 
it  in  the  same  light  ;  and  it  took  a  pretty  "cute  "  fellow  to  get 
off  without  "  coming  down  with  the  rhino."  Pie  had  a  way  of 
presenting  the  claims  of  his  cause  which  soon  disarmed  opposition. 
His  suavity,  combined  with  his  earnestness  and  sincerity,  procured 
many  a  contribution  to  our  treasuries  for  benevolent  purposes. 

A  little  incident,  to  show  how  he  "hung  on,  '  occurred  years 
ago,  at  Easton.  He  had  called  frequently  on  a  certain  church 
member,  whom  he  failed  to  find  at  home,  coming  either  too  soon 
or  too  late.  At  last  the  good  wife  of  him  whom  he  was  seeking 
told  him  to  call  at  six  o'clock  in  the  evening.  By  a  remarkable 
combination  of  circumstances,  he  was  a  little  later  than  that  hour, 
and  when  he  arrived  at  the  house,  lo  !  his  man  had  gone  to  bed  ! 
The  wife  began  to  apologize  ;  but  he  soon  interrupted  her  by  tell- 
ing her  that  it  made  no  matter,  that  he  would  wait — that  he  sup- 
posed Mr.  T.  would  not  object  to  getting  up,  in  order  that  he 
might  see  him;  and,  in  his  mild,  persuasive  way,  he  broke  in 
upon  the  domain  of  Somnus,  aroused  the  sleeper,  and  got  the  con- 
tribution he  expected. 


162  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

6.  He  was  a  prudent,  cautious,  careful  man.  He  magnified  his 
office  in  his  outward  life,  as  well  as  in  other  ways.  He  saw  well 
to  it  that  he  did  not  become  a  stumbling-block  to  others.  Foolish 
talking  and  jesting  did  not  enter  into  his  speech.  Gravity,  so- 
briety, distinguished  him.  He  would  not  join  with  us  in  our  first 
alumni  dinner  at  Gettysburg  for  fear  of  giving  offence.  He 
maintained  a  clerical  appearance  ;  and  it  was  remarkable  with 
what  a  slender  and'  rarely  renewed  wardrobe  he  could  do  it.  I 
have  known  the  same  coat  to  do  duty  many  years  !  His  outward 
man  was  almost  a  model  of  neatness,  simplicity  and  respectability. 

I  mention  here  what  I  might  have  before  said,  perhaps  in  better 
connection,  as  illustrating  his  carefulness  of  his  good  name,  that 
he  would  not  ask  a  female  to  a  seat  with  him  in  his  buggy.  He 
would  avoid  occasion  for  anything  to  be  said,  by  the  maliciously 
inclined,  in  such  a  connection.  He  knew  how  ready  many  people 
were  to  speak  ill  of  ministers,  and  to  associate  their  names  dis- 
reputably with  the  other  sex.  No  matter  how  tired-looking  a 
woman  might  be  whom  he  w^ould  overtake  on  the  road,  and  how 
much  his  goodness  of  heart  might  prompt  him  to  give  her  a  little 
relief  from  walking,  his  sense  of  propriety  was  so  keen  that  he 
would  not  invite  her  to  a  seat  with  him,  no  matter  who  she 
migJd  he. 


ABRAHAM    RECK 

was  one  of  the  holiest  men  I  ever  met.  He  was  a  plain,  unpre- 
tending and  zealous  servant  of  his  divine  master,  and  was  revered 
by  all  who  ever  knew  him.  Fifty  years  ago  he  was  pastor  at  Win- 
chester, and  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Seminary  at  Gettys- 
burg. He  subsequently  served  congregations  in  Maryland,  and 
afterwards  removed  to  Ohio,  where  he  was  unfortunate  in  some 
secular  business,  and  he  was  made  a  poor  man.  But  he  never 
ceased  preaching  as  long  as  he  was  able  to  stand. 

In  his  early  ministry  he  traveled  as  a  Missionary  in  the  western 
counties  of  Virginia,  where  he  encountered  some  singular  adven- 
tures. 

He  was  associated  with  Krai-;th,  Kurtz,  Schmucker  and  others 
of  less  influence,  in  all  the  measures  for  the  furtherance  of  the 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  103 

cliurch ;    and  a  willing  and  industrious  worker  they  found  him 
to  be. 

lie  was  not  a  man  of  brilliant  mind,  or  extensive  reading.  He 
had  been  the  pupil  of  a  plain,  village  pastor,  who  had  not  much 
time  to  attend  to  his  student.^,  but  Mr.  Reck  had  the  grace,  the 
faith,  the  high  spiritual  qualification  for  his  work  among  the  peo- 
ple whom  Providence  committed  to  his  pastoral  care. 

He  was  born  in  Littlestown,  York  county,  Pa.,  January  2d,  1790, 
and  died  at  Lancaster,  Ohio,  May  18th,  1869,  aged  seventy-five 
years.  He  was  licensed  to  preach  in  1812,  and  accepted  a  call  to 
Winchester  in  1813.  He  was  an  ardent  advocate  of  Evangelical 
measures,  and  an  attempt  made  by  some  of  his  opponents  to  prose- 
cute him  before  Synod,  failed  ignominiously.  Some  of  these  men 
afterwards  became  his  warmest  friends. 

He  did  a  large  amount  of  missionary  work  in  the  earlier  part 
of  his  ministry.  He  had  one  station  thirty  miles  distant  from  his 
home,  to  reach  wdiich  he  had  to  cross  a  mountain  road  eleven 
miles  in  extent ;  the  roads  were  desperately  bad,  and  his  suffer- 
ings in  the  winter  were  terrible.  He  also  performed  missionary 
tours,  on  one  of  which  he  traveled  on  horseback  one  thousand  miles, 
and  preached  eighty-five  sermons.  As  the  result  of  his  preaching 
at  one  place,  it  was  said,  "  Young  Pieck  has  turned  the  whole  neigh- 
borhood into  fools,  for  they  won't  dance  and  frolic  any  more,  but 
all  go  to  prayer  meeting."  Dr.  Stork,  one  of  his  successors  at 
Winchester,  says,  "  In  our  first  ministry  at  Winchester,  we  heard 
so  much  of  this  good  man  from  the  peo2:)Ie  *  *  *  *  fj^^i;  \•^Q 
was  enshrined  in  our  affectionate  remembrance."  Eev.  Dosh,  an- 
other successor,  says,  "  He  was  esteemed  a  man  of  devoted  j^ietv 
*  *  *  *  and  his  memory  is  still  cherished  with  gratitude." 
Another  minister  who  knew  him  well,  says,  "No  one  ever  dared 
to  breathe  the  slightest  suspicion  against  his  eminently  upright 
conduct  and  unsullied  character." 

In  1828  he  took  charge  of  the  churches  in  the  Middletown,  Md., 
pastoFcite.  Here  he  remained  nine  years,  and  was  greatly  suc- 
cessful. 

In  1836  he  removed  to  Indianapolis,  where  he  continued  his 
missionary  labors  and  established  nine  Lutheran  Churches  in  the 
surrounding  country.  Here  he  purchased  property,  but  misfor- 
tunes befel  him  and  he  lost  all  he  had  brought  with  him  from 
Maryland,  amounting  to  about  $14,000. 


164  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LI'THERAN    MINISTRY, 

In  1841  he  went  to  Cincinnati,  where  he  organized  a  church 
amid  unparalleled  difficulties.  He  preached  "  in  a  little  open 
rickety  place,  over  an  engine  shanty,  the  stairs  outside  and  dang- 
erous." Subsef|uently,  "the  little  band  rented  the  old  college." 
Dr.  Beecher  and  Prof.  Stowe  were  his  warm  friends. 

In  1845  he  pitched  his  tent  in  Germantown,  Ohio,  where  he  re- 
mained three  years. 

AVe  next  find  him  in  Tarleton,  Ohio,  where  he  also  labored  suc- 
cessfully. He  finally  settled  down  in  Lancaster,  Ohio,  where 
he  died. 

All  through  his  long  life  he  was  a  model  man.  I  never, knew 
one  who  seemed  to  be  more  deeply  imbued  with  the  Spirit  of 
Christ.  He  never  had  an  enemy  who  was  a  true  Christian.  His 
bitterest  opponents  were  compelled  to  acknowledge  the  unsullied 
purity  of  his  life  and  the  most  established  believer  could  learn 
profitable  lessons  from  his  conversation  or  his  example.  He  was 
fearless  in  the  defence  of  the  truth  and  uncompromising  in  his 
opposition  to  wrong  of  every  kind.  He  despised  chicanery  and 
meanness.  Strongly  attached  to  his  own  church,  an  enthusiastic 
admirer  of  Luther,  yet  he  had  a  most  catholic  spirit  and  loved 
every  body  who  loved  Christ. 

He  suffered  intense  and  protracted  attacks  of  disease  during 
every  period  of  his  life,  and  rejoiced  in  wonderful  restorations; 
fearful  accidents  and  remarkable  deliverances ;  domestic  afflictions 
and  yet  uncomplaining  submission  ;  diabolical  opposition  and  yet 
most  signal  triumphs :  seasons  of  the  saddest  depression  and  yet 
cheerful  confidence  in  God  ;  jjinching  poverty  and  yet  unfailing 
trust  in  him  who  sent  the  ravens  to  feed  the  famishing  prophet  ; 
alienation  of  former  friends,  but  also  reconciliation  and  affection 
of  enemies  ;  never  despairing,  ever  hoping,  because  always  praying. 

He  was  a  most  laborious  pastor  and  thoroughly  instructed  his 
young  people  in  the  faith  of  the  church.  "My  ministerial  ex- 
perience," says  he,  "led  me  to  appreciate  the  great  wisdom  of 
Luther  in  giving  us  his  small  catechism  as  one  of  the  most  suc- 
cessful methods,  in  judicious  and  pious  hands,  of  indoctrinating 
and  properly  preparing  candidates  for  membership  in  our  good 
old  Lutheran  Reformation  Ghurcli.  Therebj'  God  gave  me  the 
first  Bible  Revivals  in  the  last  century ;  I  recommend  the  proper 
use  of  the  catechism  to  all  the  younger  brethren  in  our  church 
and  not  to  lav  it  aside  as  some  have  done." 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  165 

He  was  repeatedly  invited  to  prominent  places,  such  as  Cham- 
bersburg,  Gettysburg,  Lancaster,  Charleston,  but  as  he  was  useful 
in  the  position  in  which  he  was  at  the  time  laboring,  he  did  not 
accept  them. 

The  following  incidents,  with  many  more  which  I  had  not  room 
to  include  in  this  sketch,  were  communicated  to  me  by  Mr.  Reck 
towards  the  close  of  his  life  : 

"  Forty-seven  years  have  elapsed  since,  at  Synod  in  Cumberland, 
Maryland,  upon  warm,  repeated  solicitations  of  the  brethren,  I  at 
last  agreed  to  accept  the  appointment  of  home  missionary  for  four 
months  along  the  south  and  north  sides  of  the  Alleghanies.  The 
brethren  promised  to  supply  my  charge  at  W.,  but,  am  sorry  to 
have  to  say,  the  promises  were  but  poorly  fulfilled.  I  passed 
through  Hardy,  Hampshire  and  Pendleton  counties,  and  thence, 
after  having  to  leave  my  excellent  horse,  who  was  injured  and 
disabled,  and  borrowing  another  from  a  good  friend,  I  proceeded 
in  a  bridle,  or  rather  a  former  buffalo  path,  thirty  miles  over  the 
mountains,  without  a  house  or  even  cabin  on  the  route.  I,  at 
length,  was  overtaken  by  night,  and  it  became  exceedingly  dark. 
And  when  I  at  length  began  to  descend  the  spurs  of  the  Allegha- 
nies, amid  grand  oaks  that  both  tore  my  clothes  and  skinned  my 
face,  my  eyes  also  being  in  imminent  danger,  I  had  to  hold  one 
hand  before  my  face  and  with  the  other  try  and  guide  my  horse. 
At  length  I  espied,  at  a  long  distance,  a  light  before  me.  Now  I 
tried  to  steer  my  way  thitherward,  and,  about  10  P.  M.  in  the 
long  nights,  I  arrived  at  the  first  house  I  met  all  day  and  thus  far 
in  the  night.  I  called  loud  several  times.  At  length  I  heard  a 
coarse,  rough  voice.  "  Who  is  there  ?"  Responded  I,  "  A  stran- 
ger lost;  can  I  tarry  the  night?"  "If  you  put  up  with  such  as 
we  have."  "Willing  to  put  up  with  anything."  "Well,  come 
in  then."  The  family  had  retired  for  the  night,  and  a  big  log  fire 
blazed  on  the  hearth.  The  rude  mountaineer  viewed  me  from 
head  to  foot,  without  asking  me  to  be  seated,  and  said,  "  Are  yo\i 
not  a  minister?"  I  replied  in  the  affirmative.  "What  order?" 
"  The  Lutheran."  "  Never  heard  of  them ;  what  do  you  believe?" 
"  The  Bible."  "  But  what  do  you  believe  about  Baptism?"  Now 
I  took  the  hint  and  responded,  "  I  believe  it  is  an  ordinance  of 
divine  appointment."  "No,"  said  he,  "how  do  you  baptize?" 
"With  water."  "No,  don't  you  baptize  by  immersion?"  "I 
think  the  mode  unessential."     Ah  !  that  would  not  do  at  all  with 

11 


166  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

him.  So,  standing  still,  I  said,  "Well,  I  presume  you  believe  wtat 
Christ  said,  John  iii,  '  Ye  must  be  born  again  of  water  and  the 
Spirit,'  "  "Yes."  "Well,  I  am  tired  and  weary;  I  wish  to  have 
a  little  refreshment."  "What  will  you  have?"  "A  little  mush 
and  milk,"  as  the  family  were  all  abed.  With  amazement  he  ex- 
claimed, "Do  you  eat  mush  and  milk?"  "Oh,  yes,  I  am  very 
fond  of  it."  So  he  attended  to  it  himself,  and  then  to  my  horse. 
Afterwards  I  asked  if  he  would  accompany  me  in  a  short  evening 
service.  "  Oh,  yes."  So  I  prayed.  I  retired,  rose  early  next 
morning  to  reach  my  appointments  in  Randolph  county,  Va.  At 
the  house  of  a  brother-in-law  of  old  Rev.  P.  Henkel,  after  service, 
made  arrangements  to  return  my  borrowed  horse.  Bought  of  the 
family  a  young  four  year  old,  over  seventeen  hands  high,  a  great 
swimmer.  The  Monongahela  Avas  quite  high  and  rising,  and  they 
said  there  was  but  one  place  where  I  could  ford  without  swimming 
the  horse.  But  I  was  directed  to  kneel  on  the  saddle,  hold  by  the 
mane  and  let  the  horse  have  the  bridle.  But  I  could  never  learn 
to  swim.  The  animal  took  me  safely  across,  but  the  water  ran 
over  the  horse  both  behind  and  before  the  saddle.  I  proceeded 
towards  my  next  appointment,  always  made  ahead.  Now  I  came 
to  where  I  had  to  recross  the  same  river,  but  where  it  was  much 
deeper.  So  I  got  with  my  horse  into  an  old,  rickety,  leaking  flat- 
boat —  a  little  more  water  in  it  might  have  sunk  it  —  but,  provi- 
dentially, got  safe  across  again.  Indeed  my  whole  tour  of  many 
hundred  miles  was  throughout  perilous.  Preached  at  Wheeling, 
W.  Va.;  entered  Virginia ;  filled  appointments  ;  had  great  dan- 
ger in  crossing  Cheat  river,  filled  with  round  bowlders  of  every 
size  when  it  was  rapidly  swelling.  The  horse  could  not  have  any 
solid  footing,  all  tripping  and  slipiDing  from  side  to  side.  Passed 
and  preached  in  the  Greenglades,  Preston  county,  Va.;  thence  to 
Cumberland,  and,  when  I  arrived  at  the  North  Fork  of  the  Poto- 
mac, I  found  it  furiously  high  and  raging— no  bridge.  So  I  ven- 
tured to  swim  my  horse,  but  was  swept  by  the  tremendous 
current,  many  rods  below  the  landing  place,  against  a  very  high 
and  steep  bank,  all  saturated.  And  every  leap  the  horse  made 
he  was  imbedded  to  his  body  in  the  wet  sand  and  mud.  Here  I 
had  a  special  interference  of  a  good  Providence  to  bring  me  safely 
over  the  neazdy  last  and  most  imminent  peril.  Thank  God  for 
his  goodness.  Then  arrived  safely  at  my  first  charge  in  the  old 
dominion,  and  found  my  little  family  as  well  as  could  have  been 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  1C7 

expected.  Found  many  destitute  Lutherans  who  were  ghxd  to 
hear  the  word.  Set  in  afresh  to  lead  my  sacred  charge  in  the  way 
they  should  go  to  attain  to  eternal  life. 

THIAI.S  OF  EARLY  TIMES. 

When  I  moved  to  Indianapolis,  thirty-three  years  ago,  the  name 
of  a  Lutheran  was  hardly  known  there.  Then  its  population  was 
three  thousand,  and  mixed  with  a  number  of  tolerably  intelli- 
gent Yankees,  one  of  whom  asked  me  one  day,  "What  new  sect 
are  you  bringing  in  here?  What  do  you  believe,  &c.  ?  Why,  Sir, 
replied  I,  the  Bible  is  our  creed-book  ;  but  if  you  come  to  the 
court-house  at  such  a  day  and  hour,  you  can  hear  and  judge  for 
yourself."  I  and  my  whole  family  took  chills  and  fever  in  the 
very  worst  type,  notwithstanding,  in  less  than  six  years,  I  organ- 
ized nine  congregations.  Though  small,  they  were  the  seed  of 
Lutheranism  in  Indiana.  I  lived  mostly  out  of  pocket,  with 
a  very  large  and  sickly  family,  and  spent  out  of  pocket  three  thou- 
sand dollars,  and  out  of  the  balance  left  I  was  cheated  by  men 
who  profess  the  christian  religion  ;  thus  I  was  robbed  in  my  old 
days." 

"About  twenty-eight  years  ago,  on  my  return  from  my  six  and 
one-half  month's  collecting  tour  through  the  south  and  east,  nearly 
dead  with  the  throat  disease,  for  my  church  at  Indianapolis,  Ind. 
I  tarried  over  Lord's  day  in  Cincinnati,  at  the  Denizen  house. 
Then  there  were  thousands  of  persons  viewing  and  watching  a 
negro-mob ;  this  continued  over  Sunday  in  despite  of  all  the  mu- 
nicipal and  military  authorities  employed  to  quell  it.  Dr.  L. 
Beecher  and  Eev.  Blanchard's  both  abolition  churches,  were 
threatened  with  demolition.  So  I  attended  both,  and  three  others 
the  same  day.  And  amid  all  this  dreadful  confusion  God  im- 
pressed most  sensibly  on  my  mind,  "  I  must  go  to  Cincinnati  and 
organize  an  English  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church.  Synod  met 
soon  in  my  church  at  Indianapolis.  I  made  known  my  dertermi- 
nation.  They  consented  with  the  English  Synod  of  Ohio  to  give 
me  four  hundred  dollars  annually  to  support  my  large  family.  So 
I  went." 

The  following  paper  was  furnished  by  me  to  the  Observer  in 
18G9: 

Our  "  ancients  "  are  rapidly  leaving  us.  Kurtz,  Krauth,  and 
Reck  and  others  have  gone  before.     These  three  were  associated 


168  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

for  years  in  tlie  same  Synod,  and  closely  knit  together  in  the 
bonds  of  sympathy  and  affection.  They  were  "  ancient  men 
who  had  seen  the  first  house,  Avhen  the  foundation  of  this  house 
was  laid  before  their  eyes,"  Ezra  iii,  12,  and  they  worked  together 
for  many  years  in  building  it  up.  There  never  lived  more  earnest, 
sincere  and  s^ofjessful  workers,  and  "  their  praise  is  in  all  the 
churches."  Fitting  eulogies  have  been  pronounced  upon  the  first 
two  mentioned,  and  upon  others,  and  affection  has  bound  a  wreath 
around  the  tomb  of  all,  but  "  Father"  Reck  lived  longer  than  any 
of  them  ;  he  was  their  predecessor  in  the  ministry  by  nearly  a  half 
a  score  of  years  ;  in  "  labors  he  was  more  abundant  than  them  all ;" 
and  hence  deserves  special  notice  of  the  church  biographer. 

It  is  my  good  fortune  to  have  before  me  an  autobiographical 
sketch  written  by  the  lamented  deceased  less  than  a  year  before 
his  death,  and  hence,  I  am  able  to  relate  facts,  and  identify  dates, 
as  they  came  from  his  own  hand. 

His  grandfather  came  from  Germany  one  hundred  and  fifty 
years  ago,  and  settled  near  Littlestown,  Pa.  Soon  after  his  family 
was  sheltered,  a  Lutheran  church  was  erected,  and  the  descendants 
of  those  original  settlers  have  grown  abundant  and  strong.  In 
speaking  of  his  family,  Mr.  R.  says:  "All  my  progenitors  were 
Evangelical  Lutherans,  and  had  inherited  some  of  the  Arndtian 
and  Franckean  spirit." 

He  was  born  in  Littlestown,  Pa.,  January  2,  1791.  Died  in 
Lancaster,  0.,  May  18,  1869.  At  six  years  of  age  he  was  sent  to 
school,  and  in  eight  months  he  learned  to  read  his  Bible  "pretty 
well."  In  some  remarks  upon  the  expediency  of  using  the  Bible 
as  a  school  book,  he  says :  "I  have  known  some  young  preachers, 
and  graduates  too,  so  poorly  quote  and  misquote  Scripture,  that 
it  mortified  me,  all  owing  to  a  want  of  acquaintance  with  the 
Bible  in  their  youth."  His  "  early  religious  impressions  were  re- 
ceived from  the  instructions  and  prayers  of  his  j^arents,  from  hear- 
ing faithful  preaching,  and  reading  God's  word,  but  chiefly  from 
the  catechetical  instruction  of  Rev.  John  Grubb,  a  truly  converted 
man."  A  severe  accident  from  a  scythe  confined  him  to  his  room 
for  four  months,  which  turned  out,  as  he  says,  to  be  the  greatest 
blessing  he  had  ever  experienced.  He  spent  the  time  in  reading 
the  Scriptures  and  praying,  and  was  wonderfully  favored  with  the 
Divine  presence. 

He  taught  school  for  several  years  and  says:  "  I  always  added 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  1G9 

moral  and  religious  instruction  to  my  school  efforts,  and  prayed 
with  my  pupils."  Some  years  after,  a  relative  once  said  to  him, 
"  Cousin  A.  you  recollect  when  you  taught  school,  you  admonished 
us  all  to  pray  in  private  for  a  new  heart;  I  did  so,  when  but  nine 
years  old,  and  God  heard  and  blessed  me  with  a  new  heart."  He 
observes,  "  that  this  lady  was  the  most  deeply  pious  person  he 
ever  knew." 

He  now  resolved  to  study  for  the  ministry,  and  was  put  under 
the  care  of  Rev.  F.  V.  Melsheimer  of  Hanover,  who  had  several 
other  pupils.  Of  his  preceptor,  Mr.  R.  says,  "  He  was  one  of 
the  most  modest,  retiring,  humble  great  men  I  ever  saw." 

In  January,  1813,  he  accepted  a  call  from  the  church  in  Win- 
chester, Va.,  where  he  labored  successfully  fifteen  years.  He 
states  some  very  interesting  facts  in  relation  to  his  "revivals" 
and  the  bitter  opposition  he  encountered.  One  party  in  a  neigh- 
boring village  even  threatened  to  murder  him,  but  he  resolutely 
faced  his  wicked  opponents  and  cowed  them  by  his  firmness. 
Though  persecuted  by  the  enemies  of  the  truth,  yet  no  man  ever 
dared  to  breathe  the  slightest  suspicion  against  his  eminently 
upright  conduct  and  his  unsullied  character.  He  was  on  most 
familiar  terms  with  that  eminent  Presbyterian  minister,  the  late 
Dr.  Hill,  of  whom  Mr.  R.  speaks  in  the  most  exalted  terms  of 
praise. 

Among  other  interesting  incidents  which  he  relates  con- 
cerning his  fifteen  years'  residence  at  Winchester,  is  one  which 
shows  and  demonstrates  his  zeal  for  God's  house.  He  paid  $100 
to  a  master  mechanic  out  of  his  own  pocket  to  release  an  appren- 
tice, whom  he  intended  to  train  for  the  ministry.  He  took  him  to 
his  own  boarding-house  and  paid  all  his  expenses  for  living,  clothes 
and  books  for  several  years,  until  he  was  licensed.  That  minister, 
Keil,  is  still  living  in  Ohio.  Mr.  R.  estimates  that  he  spent  several 
thousand  dollars  in  "  fitting,  in  some  degree,  several  pious  and 
talented  young  men  for  the  work  of  God." 

In  1828  he  took  charge  of  the  churches  in  Middletown,  Md., 
and  vicinity,  after  seven  successive  annual  calls,  where  for  some 
years  he  displayed  the  same  untiring  zeal  and  conscientious  de- 
votion to  his  pastoral  duties.  He  found  the  spiritual  condition  of 
things  very  disheartening:  "The  work  of  the  Lord,"  he  says, 
"  spread  through  my  entire  charge  of  nine  congregations,  and 
multitudes  of  the  young  as  well  as  the  old,  dead  formalists,  j^ro- 


170  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY, 

fessed  conve:^sJon,  and  thus  were  my  churcli  members  multiplied 
and  greatly  edified.  *  *  *  My  self-sacrifice  (though  I  say  it 
myself)  was  great,  and  it  is  a  wonder  I  did  not  fall  a  victim  to 
my  excessive  labor,  long  rides  and  dreadful  exposure  to  heat  and 
cold,  rain  and  snow,  with  severe  pains  in  the  chest  and  throat,  all 
the  time." 

In  sjDeaking  of  his  labors  in  the  earlier  part  of  his  ministry,  he 
says,  "  I  had  a  congregation  in  Hampshire  Co.,  Va.,  thirty  miles 
from  my  home.  I  had  to  cross  a  mountain  eleven  miles  from  foot 
to  foot.  The  roads  were  desperate  —  a  part  of  it  called  'The 
Featherbed '  was  covered  with  sharp  pointed  stones,  fast  in  the 
beds  of  the  rock,  so  that  the  poor  horse  could  hardly  venture  to 
tread  down.  *  *  *  I  ^as  obliged  to  leave  home  at  three  or 
four  o'clock  on  short  winter  days  to  reach  the  place  in  time ; — 
preached  German  and  English  and  then  catechized  a  class ; — 
reached  the  first  habitation  on  my  return  at  ten  at  night ; — some- 
times literally  fi'ozen  stiff,  so  that  they  were  obliged  to  lift  me  froni 
my  horse  and  unbutton  my  coat  and  thaw  me  before  a  good  fire. 
Then,  I  would  have  to  roll  on  my  bed  during  the  greater  part  of 
the  night  from  severe  colic  !  " 

Like  some  other  good  men,  Mr.  B.  was  sometimes  tempted  amid 
his  severe  bodily  afSictions,  to  resign  his  holy  office,  from  an  over- 
jDOwering  sense  of  j^ersonal  unworthiness.  On  one  such  occasion, 
he  consulted  his  old  pastor,  Mr.  Grubb,  who  in  his  usual  abrupt 
but  still  tender  way,  said,  "All  this  is  from  the  devil, — he  sees 
that  God  intends  you  for  some  good  work,  and  therefore  he  tries 
to  get  you  out  of  the  way." 

Our  venerable  friend  was  somewhat  tenacious  of  his  credit  to 
certain  well-meant  innovations  and  says,  "  Bro.  Heyer,  then  of 
Cumberland,  claimed  to  have  had  the  first  Lutheran  revival  there 
in  modern  times.  Others,  lately,  at  the  death  of  our  very  worthy 
Dr.  B.  Kurtz,  wrote,  that  he  had  been  favored  with  the  first  re- 
vival in  our  churches,  but  mine  occurred  several  years  before  he 
W'as  licensed." 

The  narrative  which  our  friend  has  left  of  his  ministerial  life  is 
not  systematic,  and  hence  he  jots  down  events  just  as  they  oc- 
curred in  his  memory. 

He  gives  an  account  of  the  opposition  made  to  his  measures  in 
one  of  his  churches  and  of  the  desperate  efforts  made  to  get  rid 
of  him.     They  even  hired  a  lawyer  to  go  to  Synod  and  accuse  him 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  171 

of  irregularities,  without  showing  him  the  respect  of  a  legal  no- 
tice. "When  the  lawyer  arose,  Mr.  K.  strenuously  objected  to  Ihe 
proceedings  as  unconstitutional ; — the  lawyer  was  not  even  a  mem- 
ber of  the  church,  and  the  accused  had  not  been  notified  of  the 
charges,  but  he  was  allowed  to  proceed,  and  read  "  many  pages  of 
foolscap,"  the  substance  of  whicli  was,  that  the  accused  had  de- 
parted from  the  good  old  way,  and  become  a  Methodist  and  fa- 
natic, &c.,  &c. 

"  Tlie  sainted  Dr.  Lochman,  of  Harrisburg,  volunteered  to  de- 
fend my  holy  cause,  and  did  it  most  manfully,  justifying  me  wholly. 
Then,  Dr.  B.  Kurtz,  the  young  pastor  of  Hagerstown,  arose  and 
clinched  the  nail  that  had  been  driven- — and  the  work  of  the  Lord 
still  progressed." 

Several  instances  of  the  extraordinary  results  of  single  sermons 
are  given  by  him  ;  the  reformation  in  one  neighborhood  where  he 
preached  as  a  visitor  was  so  thorough,  that  a  member  of  another 
church  remarked,  that  "  young  Reck  had  turned  the  whole  neigh- 
borhood into  fools,  for  they  won't  dance  and  frolic  any  more,  but 
all  go  to  prayer-meetings." 

Mr.  R.  was  animated  all  his  life  with  an  earnest  missionary 
spirit,  and  in  his  earlier  ministry  visited  many  destitute  places  in 
Western  Virginia,  during  the  week,  and  exposed  himself  to  ]3erils  of 
various  kinds.  He  once  sent  word  ahead  that  he  would  hold  a 
prayer-meeting  in  a  certain  church,  and  when  he  arrived  he  found 
the  house  locked  against  him.  A  stout  young  fellow  secretly 
raised  long  poles  against  the  end  of  the  house  and  adroitly  entered 
the  window  unperceived,  and  unlocked  it  from  the  inside.  He 
returned  to  the  front,  and  carelessly  leaned  against  the  door  as  if 
to  rest  himself,  when  it  flew  open,  and  he  fell  in  after  it.  The 
way  was  now  clear,  and  the  meeting  was  held.  The  young  man 
himself  was  converted,  and  afterwards  became  a  preacher. 

In  his  early  life  our  friend  was  on  intimate  and  fraternal  terms 
with  that  "  family  of  preachers,"  the  Henkels  of  Virginia.  He  was 
"  always  made  a  welcome  visitor  "  at  the  house  of  old  Paul  Hen- 
kel,  the  father,  with  whom  he  often  preached  in  company  at  Con- 
ferences, &c.,  and  this  intimacy  continued  until  the  Henkels  took 
a  decided  stand  against  the  General  Synod.  He  relates  several 
interesting  facts  in  relation  to  this  family,  which  for  some  years 
exerted  a  wide  influence  upon  many  members  of  the  church  in  the 
Southwest. 


172  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Mr.  E.,  during  his  long  life,  was  invited  to  several  prominent 
churclies.  He  refused  a  call  from  Chambersburg  just  before  Dr. 
B.  Kurtz  took  cliarge  of  that  people,  and  the  reason  was,  that 
they  would  not  sanction  some  popular  measures  which  Mr.  K. 
freely  practiced,  but  which  Dr.  Kurtz  afterwards  successfully  in- 
troduced. In  the  third  year  of  his  ministry,  about  1816,  he  re- 
fused an  invitation  to  Charleston,  S.  C,  where  Dr.  Bachman  has 
since  labored  with  success  for  more  than  lifty  years.  He  was 
called  to  Gettysburg,  and  invited  to  visit  Lancaster,  Pa.,  as  well 
as  other  important  churches. 

In  an  account  of  a  tour  he  made  to  North  Carolina,  he  describes 
a  visit  to  Rev,  G.  Stork.  He  says,  "  Of  all  ministers  I  ever 
met,  Father  Stork  was  the  most  interesting.  A  perfect  scholar 
from  the  Universities  of  Germany,  a  perfect  Christian  gentleman, 
and  of  extraordinarily  felicitous  sociability,  but  withal  a  great 
sufferer  from  neuralgia.  Of  him,  old  Dr.  Daniel  Kurtz  once  re- 
marked to  me  :  Mr  Stork  was  a  very  superior  man,  but  so  exceed- 
ingly humble,  and  modest,  and  self-diffident,  that  when  he  should 
have  filled  the  first  pulpit  in  any  city,  he  settled  in  what  was 
then  the  wild  country  of  North  Carolina." 

In  1836  Mr.  Reck  was  induced  to  remove  to  Indianapolis.  He 
purchased  property  and  immediately  began  to  gather  the  scattered 
Lutherans  of  the  vicinity.  Always  at  work  and  always  ready  to 
sacrifice  health,  means  and  everything  else  to  build  up  the  Church 
he  so  dearly  loved.  Misfortunes  of  various  kinds  befel  him ;  he 
lost  his  health  and  was  cheated  out  of  his  property,  after  having 
spent  over  three  thousand  ($3,000)  dollars  of  his  own  funds  in 
sustaining  our  cause  in  that  then  destitute  country.  He  was  ren- 
dered utterly  poor  by  the  machinations  of  false  friends,  but  w'as 
never  forsaken  by  God  or  sympathizing  brethren.  A  small  legacy 
aided  him  in  a  slight  degree  during  the  last  year  of  his  life,  and 
assistance  was  afforded  from  other  sources.  During  his  six  years 
residence  in  Indianapolis  he  encountered  "  unparalleled  sufferings 
in  every  way,"  "  terrific,  dark  horrors  seized  upon  him,"  but  he 
was  sustained  by  an  Almighty  arm  amid  all  his  severe  trials.  I 
dare  not  specify  these  exceedingly  sore  visitations,  but  there  are  few 
men  who  are  called  upon  in  a  Christian  land  to  undergo  what  Mr. 
R.  did,  and  yet  so  submissively  did  he  bear  it  all,  that  we  are 
constrained  to  glorify  God's  grace  in  sustaining  His  servant  amid 
fiery  temptations. 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  173 

In  1841  he  removed  to  Cincinnati  to  attempt  the  organization 
of  an  English  Church.  He  first,  preached  "  in  a  little,  open,  rick- 
ety place  over  an  engine  shanty,  the  stairs  outside  and  dangerous." 
Afterward  the  feeble  band  "  rented  the  old  college."  He  gives  a 
very  interesting  account  of  the  conversion  of  an  intelligent  Cath- 
olic lady,  who  openly  renounced  Romanism  in  the  church,  sub- 
mitted to  re-confirmation,  and  had  her  only  child  baptized  at  the 
same  time. 

Pie  remained  there  four  years,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  la- 
mented Harrison.  During  his  residence  in  that  city  he  secured 
the  confidence  of  other  Christian  churches  and  ministers  by  his 
unwearied  energy  in  the  good  cause  and  his  blameless  life.  Dr. 
Beecher,  and  his  son-in-law.  Prof.  Stowe,  among  others,  were  his 
intimate  friends.  Still,  he  was  not  without  almost  intolerable 
sufferings  even  here.  After  supporting  his  large  family  for  six 
weeks  on  the  poorest  food,  of  which  meat  formed  no  part,  a  few 
friends  from  Germantown,  Ohio,  formerly  residing  in  Maryland, 
came  to  his  house  and  forced  him  to  pack  up  at  once  and  be  con- 
veyed bag  and  baggage  in  their  market  wagons  to  that  place. 
Here  he  got  into  "  a  paper-war  "  with  a  self-styled  Lutheran  lay- 
man, who  was  a  Universalist.  Mr.  R.  proved  from  the  Augs- 
burg Confession,  that  no  man,  maintaining  that  doctrine,  had  any 
right  to  the  name  Lutheran,  and  his  opponent  was  silenced.  From 
the  account  of  his  work  in  that  region  he  must  have  been  emi- 
nently successful. 

In  1847  he  moved  to  Tarleton,  and  remained  there  three  years. 
He  was  bitterly  opposed  by  some  of  whom  better  things  might 
have  been  looked  for.  He  found  himself  "  in  a  bad  predicament, 
chiefly  by  the  unfaithfulness  of  those  who  were  pledged  to  stand 
by  and  sustain  him."  He  also  suffered  extremely  from  ulcerated 
sore  throat,  but  subsequently  he  was  relieved  from  this  painful 
and  dangerous  affliction,  "as  if  by  magic,"  in  answer  to  fervent 
prayer. 

1852  he  took  up  his  residence  in  Lancaster,  0.,  but  not  in  an- 
swer to  any  call  from  a  church.  Whilst  living  here  he  had  nu- 
merous invitations  to  visit  vacant  churches  as  a  candidate,  but 
they  were  either  too  large  for  his  impaired  health  or  too  small  for 
his  support.  He  tried  raising  vegetables  for  gaining  a  living,  and 
failed  in  the  enterprise. 

Mr.  R.,  in  the  "  sketch  "  by  his  own  hand,  now  before  me,  gives 


174  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LL'THERAN   MINISTRY. 

a  chapter  on  liis  sicknesses  and  sorrows.  It  is  an  extraordinary 
chapter.  Intense  and  protracted  attacks  of  disease  during  every 
period  of  his  life,  and  most  wonderful  restorations ;  fearful  acci- 
dents and  remarkable  deliverances ;  domestic  afflictions  and  yet 
uncomplaining  submission  ;  diabolical  opposition  and  yet  most 
signal  triumphs  over  his  enemies  ;  seasons  of  the  saddest  depres- 
sion and  yet  cheerful  confidence  in  God  ;  pinching  poverty  and 
yet  trust  in  Him  who  sent  the  ravens  to  feed  the  famishing  pro- 
phet; alienation  of  former  friends  and  yet  joyful  attachment  to 
Him  who  sticketh  closer  than  a  brother ;  never  despairing,  ever 
hoping,  because  always  praying. 

Mr.  Reck  was  a  model  man.  I  never  knew  one  who  seemed  to 
be  more  deeply  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  Christ.  He  never  had 
an  enemy  who  was  a  true  Christian.  His  bitterest' opponents  were 
compelled  to  acknowledge  the  unsullied  purity  of  his  life,  and 
the  most  established  believer  could  learn  something  profitable 
from  his  conversation  or  his  example.  He  was  fearless  in  the  de- 
fence of  the  truth,  and  uncompromising  in  his  opposition  to  wrong 
of  every  kind.  He  never  aimed  at  winning  any  man's  favor  by 
flattery,  and  despised  chicanery  and  meanness  of  every  degree. 
Strongly  attached  to  his  own  church,  and  an  enthusiastic  admirer 
and  almost  a  worshiper  of  Luther,  yet  he  had  a  most  catholic 
spirit,  and  loved  everybody  who  loved  Christ.  He  constantly 
practised  the  good  old  Lutheran  custom  of  catechetical  instruc- 
tion, and  often  mentions  Luther's  catechism  in  terms  of  high  ad- 
miration. As  a  preacher  he  was  plain,  fervent,  impressive ;  as  a 
pastor  faithful,  self-denying,  jDersevering ;  as  a  friend  constant, 
affectionate,  forgiving.  He  was  the  pattern  of  a  country  Chris- 
tian gentleman  of  the  old  school,  without  the  tinsel  embellishment 
of  modern  fashion,  or  the  hollow-heartedness  and  duplicity  of 
what  is  called  polite  and  refined  society.  We  cannot  afford  to 
spare  many  such  men  from  our  ministry,  but  his  work  was  done 
and  he  was  called  home  late.  He  lived  seventy-eight  years  with 
faculties  unimpaired ;  his  memory  retentive,  his  eye  bright,  his 
hand  steady,  and  his  faith  growing.  The  manuscript  before  me, 
finished  a  few  months  before  his  death,  shows  the  round,  distinct 
and  symmetrical  hand  of  a  youth. 

No  wonder  that  a  man  of  such  heart  and  faith  should  die  calmly. 
His  dying  experience  was  edifying  and  consoling,  and  his  redeemed 
spirit  took  its  flight  to  heaven  amid  the  plaudits  of  waiting  angels 
and  the  "  Well  done"  of  a  loving  Saviour. 


FIFTY   YEAKS    IN   THE   LUTIIEKAN    MINISTKY.  175 


EARLY  TKIALS  OF  MR.  RECK. 


Often  when  pious  young  ministers  pant  to  enter  the  vineyard 
of  their  Lord,  with  the  most  buoyant  expectations,  they  are  sadly 
tried  and  crossed  in  the  outset.  Thus  it  happened  with  myself. 
I  was  sent  by  ecclesiastical  authority  to  missionate  three  months  up 
and  down  the  valley  of ,  with  the  privilege  of  locating  wher- 
ever I  chose.     Eight  of  us  were  examined  by  the  committee  of 

Synod,  held  at  Carlisle,  Pa.  The  first  after  licensure  who  was 
named  by  Synod  was  Mr.  D.  But  he  refused,  so  I  was  named 
second  best,  and,  after  reflection,  I  agreed  to  go.  Well,  when  Mr, 
D.  heard  of  my  willingness,  he  withdrew  his  objection  and  ofiered 
to  go.  He  was  then  told  that  he  must  go  at  his  own  charges,  and 
he  agreed.     But  I  was  the  first  appointee,  and  went  and  preached 

through  the  valley,  and  when  solicited  to  accept  a  call  from , 

I  agreed  in  a  verbal  contract.  But  when  Mr.  D.  afterward  came 
along,  he  told  the  churches  that  I  was  not  regularly  sent,  but  he 
himself  was.     And  as  he  pretended  to  a  little  more  familiarity 

with  the  English  than  myself,  the  church  council  at broke 

their  agreement  with  me.  I  w^-^s  apprised  of  all  this  and  went  on 
a  second  tour  over  the  same  field,  to  make  up  my  three  months ; 
and  having  acquiesced,  as  I  thought,  in  the  Avill  of  the  Master,  I 

stopped  to  feed  in  ,  and  was  seen  by  one  of  the  elders,  who 

asked  me  whether  I  would  not  now  preach  and  take  charge  of 
them?  I  replied,  "Why,  you  have  a  pastor  in  Mr.  D."  Then  I 
was  informed,  although  he  had  engaged  to  come,  yet  he  never  re- 
turned, nor  even  wrote  to  them.  On  having  visited  a  number  of 
vacant   charges,  and  being  solicited   to   take  charge    of  several 

places,  I  felt  a  drawing  to  my  first  engagement  at  After 

this  trial  of  faith  and  j)atience  in  the  outset,  I  then  re-contracted 
with  the  churches  at  Meanwhile  a  call  had  been  pre- 
pared for  me  by  the  pastorate  at  Gettysburg,  Pa.  But  I  could 
not  comply.  I  got  Bro.  A.  Rudisill  to  go  there,  who  soon  died ; 
my  dearest  fellow-student ! !  0  !  how  long  I  must  wander  behind 
him  here  below !     But  God  knows  best  what  is  good  for  us. 


176  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

THE    REV.  DR.  JOHN    W.  RICHARDS 

was,  during  the  whole  period  of  his  ministerial  life,  an  influential 
member  of  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania.  He  was  in  advance  of 
many  of  his  fellow  members  in  the  advocacy  of  those  measures 
which  tended  to  unite  the  various  sections  of  the  church  and  to 
foster  her  modern  institutions.  He  wrote  a  series  of  strong  arti- 
cles, in  favor  of  the  General  Synod,  for  the  Lutheran  Observer, 
when  his  Synod  stood  aloof  from  that  Union,  and  always  supported 
every  measure  which  aimed  at  improvement  and  progress. 

He  died  suddenly  at  Reading  in  1854,  aged  fifty-one.  He  was 
the  great  grand-son  of  Rev.  Dr.  Henry  Melchior  Muhlenberg,  the 
apostle  of  Lutheranism  on  the  Western  Continent,  and  inherited 
a  large  portion  of  the  spirit  of  that  eminent  minister. 

For  a  biographical  sketch  see  Sprague's  Annals. 


REV.    FREDERICK    RUTHRAUFF 

was  universally  allowed  to  be  one  of  the  most  Godly  and  devoted 
men  that  ever  adorned  our  ministry.  Those  who  knew  him  best 
bear  the  most  unequivocal  testimony  to  the  uprightness  of  his  life 
and  the  fervor  of  his  spirit.  He  was  born  in  Greencastle,  Pa., 
October  25,  1796,  and  died  at  Worthington,  Armstrong  Co.,  Pa., 
September  18,  1859. 

A  brief  autobiography  is  published  in  the  Observer  of  October 
14,  1859,  in  which  he  gives  many  interesting  details  of  the  early 
period  of  his  life.  He  was  a  student  at  Washington  College,  Pa., 
for  two  years,  but  was  obliged  to  leave  on  account  of  pecuniary 
embarrassments  and  began  the  study  of  Theology  in  1820,  under 
Dr.  Lochman,  of  Harrisburg. 

Dr.  B.  Kurtz,  in  a  long  obituary  notice  in  Observer  of  Oct.  7, 
1859,  thus  speaks  of  him : 

"I  think  that  I  understood  him  thoroughly,  and  may  he  per- 
mitted to  indulge  in  a  few  reflections.  =;=*=;=  j^  subsequent 
life  he  was  constantly  so  immersed  in  the  arduous  duties  of  his 
vocation,  that  he  had  but  little  time  left  for  study.  When  he  first 
commenced  his  ministry,  he  wrote  out  every  sermon  he  prepared, 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    TFIE    LL'THEEAN    MINISTRY.  177 

and  read  it  verbatim  to  his  audience.  This  was  a  ground  of  ob- 
jection among  his  people,  and  I  more  than  once  chided  him  for 
reading,  and  urged  him,  while  he  studied  his  sermons  thoroughly, 
to  preach  from  brief  notes  at  first,  and  gradually  accustom  himself 
to  dispense  with  them  also.  He  thought  this  impossible.  But  I 
continued  from  time  to  time  to  press  the  point,  and  referred  to  my 
own  example  as  an  incentive.  I  had  at  first  written  out  all  my 
sermons  and  delivered  them  from  memory  ;  I  found  this  to  be  an 
intolerable  drudgery ;  and  driven  by  necessity,  had  learned  to 
preach  in  my  humble  way  from  a  prejDared  plan  without  any  notes 
in  the  pulpit.  He  rejoined,  that  to  preach  extempore  was  a  gift; 
that  he  possessed  it  not,  and  Avas  sure  that  its  attainment  was 
utterly  beyond  his  reach,  and  it  was  wholly  in  vain  for  him  even 
to  aim  at  it.  I  persisted,  and  he  at  last  "  with  fear  and  trembling  " 
made  a  trial,  succeeded,  tried  again,  and  succeeded  still  better, 
and  from  that  day  until  his  death  never,  I  presume,  again  read  a 
sermon  from  the  pulpit.  He  afterwards  thanked  me  for  my  re- 
proof and  exhortations,  and  his  people  loved  his  more  than  ever. 

Mr.  R.  was  not  a  florid  nor  a  fanciful  speaker;  but  he  was  an 
earnest,  impassioned,  deeply  spiritual  and  practical  preacher.  His 
sermons  were  systematic  and  thoroughly  imbued  with  Gospel 
truth;  his  language  plain,  his  manner  solemn,  his  defence  of  the 
truth  fearless,  and  his  warnings  and  exhortations  powerful  and 
impressive,  and  often  delivered  with  an  ardor  and  eloquence  that 
appalled  the  guilty,  and  caused  the  daring  sinner  to  quiver  with 
the  barbed  arrows  that  penetrated  and  rankled  in  his  heart.  His 
prayers  especially  were  fervent  and  overpowering. 

His  life  was  such  as  might  be  expected  from  a  man  of  his  prin- 
ciples. It  was  consistent  with  the  Gospel,  and  a  practical  com- 
mentary upon  the  Gospel's  precepts.  Conscientious,  courageous 
in  the  discharge  of  duty,  untiring  in  labor,  candid  in  the  exjires- 
sion  of  his  sentiments,  free  and  open  alike  Avith  friend  and  foe, 
and  habitually  breathing  a  spirit  of  deep  piety — I  always  felt 
stimulated  by  personal  intercourse  with  him  to  become  a  better 
man  and  more  devoted  Christian.  His  ministry  was  repeatedly 
blessed  with  signal  outpourings  of  the  Spirit. 

Bro.  R.  frequently  changed  his  pastorate.  This  has  furnished 
occasion  for  disparaging  strictures.  But  I  have  been  led  to  view 
those  changes  in  a  different  light.  It  Avas  peculiarly  befitting  that 
a  man  of  such  character  should  move  to  and  fro  in  the  church. 


178  FIFTY   YEAKS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

carrying  witli  liiin  wherever  he  went  liis  renaarkable  energy  and 
devotion,  his  deep  spirituality  and  fidelity,  imbuing  the  neighbor- 
ing ministers,  as  well  as  his  own  charge  with  the  same  holy,  God- 
consecrated  spirit  that  animated  himself. 

Our  brother  had  his  frailties,  jDrobably  fewer,  however,  than  fall 
to  the  lot  of  many  of  us.  Perhaps  the  chief  defect  in  his  minis- 
terial character  was  the  lack  of  adaptation  in  the  matter  and 
manner  of  his  reproofs.  He  was  too  conscientious  not  to  rebuke 
when  occasion  called  for  it.  With  him  duty  was  paramount ;  and 
whether  in  private  or  in  the  pulpit,  if  he  deemed  it  to  be  his  duty  to 
admonish,  to  warn,  or  to  reprove,  he  was  not  the  man  to  shirk  out 
either  for  fear  or  favor.  I  am  sure  he  never  crooked  the  pregnant 
hinges  of  the  knee,  that  thrift  might  follow  fawning.  But  how  to 
discharge  this  delicate  and  painful  duty  in  the  least  offensive  and 
most  successful  manner,  was  an  art  which  he  was  slow  to  learn. 
More  than  once  did  I  myself  venture  to  take  him  to  task  for  this 
failing,  and  more  than  once  did  he  mourn  over  it  and  resolve  to 
pray  and  study  that  he  might  acquire  it. 

Bro.  R.  was  emphatically  not  "  a  dumb  dog  that  could  not  bark;" 
he  lifted  up  his  voice  like  a  trumpet,  and  the  trumpet  in  his  mouth 
never  gave  "an  uncertain  sound."  Such  earnestness  and  fidelity 
could  not  remain  unproductive.  No  hazard  is  involved  in  saying 
that  in  every  church  committed  to  his  charge  he  has  left  "  seals  to 
hi.3  ministry  ;"  in  every  such  church  men  and  women  may  be  found 
who  loved  and  reverenced  him,  and  will  bear  testimony  to  his 
worth.  For  myself,  I  knew  no  man  on  earth  whom  I  would  rather 
have  had  at  my  dying  couch,  because  I  am  sure  he  would  have 
dealt  honestly  Avith  me  in  the  momentous  matter  of  my  everlast- 
ing destiny,  and  prayed  in  living  faith  for  my  eternal  salvation." 

The  Eev.  M.  J.  Alleman  thus  speaks  of  him  in  the  same  paper : 

"Mr.  RuthraufFwas  a  fine  looking  man  :  tall  and  portly  in  person 
— erect  in  his  bearing,  dignified,  yet  easy  in  his  manners,  social 
in  his  habits,  he  always  made  a  good  impression  upon  the  minds 
of  those  with  whom  he  associated. 

And  as  his  body  was  erect,  so  was  his  soul  sincere.  He  scorned 
hypocrisy,  and  despised  the  sycophant.  He  was  no  dissembler. — 
Himself  honest  and  upright,  he  expected  the  same  of  others.  And 
not  only  was  this  true  of  him  in  the  ordinary  transactions  of  this 
life,  but  likewise  in  the  higher  affairs  of  the  sjDirit.  He  was  as 
honest  in  things  spiritual  as  in  things  temporal.     If  he  saw  any. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  179 

in  things  ecclesiastical,  ministers  or  laymen,  making  pretensions, 
or  laying  claims  to  more  than  justly  belonged  to  them,  he  failed 
not  to  administer  a  withering  rebuke,  if  opportunity  offered. 

For  this  reason,  some  have  thought  that  Mr.  Ruthrauff  was 
proud  and  haughty.  Those  not  intimately  acquaiidcd  with  him 
might  think  so.  Not  so  with  those  who  were  acquainted  with  the 
secrets  of  his  heart.  He  was  one  of  the  humblest  of  men.  The 
precept — "  Think  not  more  highly  of  yourself  than  ye  ought  to 
think,"  was  fully  complied  with  in  his  case.  I  have  heard  him, 
with  tears  in  his  eyes,  lament  his  unworthiness  —  and  freely  ac- 
knowledge himself  the  least  among  his  brethren. 

As  a  preacher,  in  many  respects  he  was  a  model.  He  aimed  to 
awaken,  instruct  and  edify.  There  was  nothing  of  the  bombastic 
in  his  efforts.  His  style  was  plain — a  child  could  understand  him 
— his  statements  clear  and  logical — his  appeals  powerful,  and  at 
times  overwhelming.  He  preached  to  do  good — not  to  please  and 
captivate  his  hearers.  He  feared  no  man's  face  ; — his  exhortations 
were  earnest,  as  his  exposition  of  Scripture  was  evangelical.  His 
rebukes  of  sin  and  sinners  were  withering,  and  sometimes  gave 
offence  ;  yet  no  man  dared  question  his  sincerity,  though  they 
might  doubt  his  prudence. 

Yet  his  crowning  excellency  was  his  piety — this  was  unaffected, 
deep-toned  and  progressive.  I  never  heard  his  bitterest  enemies 
(and  he  had  these  —  Christ,  Paul  and  Luther  had  them)  ever 
express  a  doubt  but  that  he  was  a  good  man,  as  he  unquestionably 
was  a  good  preacher.  I  had  been  associated  with  him  in  Synods, 
Conferences,  protracted-meetings,  prayer-meetings,  and  family  de- 
votions, ever  since  1846,  and  he  always  exhibited  the  same  devo- 
tional spirit,  the  same  love  to  Christ  and  his  kingdom,  the  same 
ardent  longing  for  the  salvation  of  sinners,  and  the  edification  of 
the  flock  of  Jesus.  Oh  !  how  fervently  and  appropriately  he  used 
to  pray,  my  heart  often  melted  under  his  jDrayers — how  heartily 
he  used  to  sing,  and  how  he  loved  to  talk  about  Zion — how  fre- 
quently ho  used  to  interrogate  me  in  reference  to  news  ecclesias- 
tical.    But  he  has  gone  to  his  rest,  and  his  works  do  follow  him.* 

*  I  remember  that  I  once  showed  Mr.  R.  an  allusion  to  liis  naiie  in  a  German 
book  on  "  Pastoral  Thoolo^'S' in  Examples."  It  was  an  cxtraet  from  an  American 
paper,  ■ri\-ing'  an  account  of  a  i)rotracte(l  meeting'  which  he  ha  1  hcM  in  Gettysburfr, 
which,  thoiijrh  nothinfr  nniisii;il  in  its  results,  was  strange  to  the  author  of  the  book. 
"Sir.  U.  was  gratified,  not  so  much  at  the  fact  of  his  own  name  appeai-ing  in  a  foreign 
book  as  that  our  over-thc-sca  friends  should  hear  and  appreciate  such  measures. 

J.   CJ.   M. 


180  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 


WALTER    GUNN 

was  the  first  missionary  from  our  clmrcli  to  the  heathen  who  died 
in  the  fiehl.  He  sailed  for  India  in  1843,  and  died  in  1851.  He 
was  a  graduate  of  Union  College  in  1841,  and  studied  theology  at 
Gettysburg.  He  was  a  man  universally  esteemed,  and  contributed 
immeasurably  towards  awakening  a  missionary  spirit  in  our 
churches  in  this  country.  He  was  educated  at  the  expense  of  a 
Female  Benevolent  Society  of  the  Hartwick  Synod  ;  was  licensed 
in  1842 ;  ordained  by  that  Synod  at  Johnstown  in  1843. 

The  following  letters  from  Sprague's  Annals  illustrate  his 
character : 

Rev.  Dr.  Pohlman  writes :  "  The  first  time  I  ever  saAV  the  Rev. 
Walter  Gunn  was  at  the  meeting  of  the  General  Synod  in  Balti- 
more, in  1843,  when  he  was  appointed  the  first  Foreign  Mission- 
ary of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Missionary  Society  of  the  United 
States.  Shortly  after  this  he  visited  me  at  New  Germantown,  N. 
J.,  where  I  had  then  my  pastoral  charge,  and  preached  for  me — 
the  only  time,  I  think,  that  I  ever  had  the  opportunity  of  hearing 
him.  In  1845  I  came  into  official  relations  with  him  as  Corres- 
ponding Secretary  of  our  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  and  con- 
tinued in  these  relations  for  two  or  three  years." 

"Mr.  Gunn  was  a  very  tall  man,  I  should  think  somewhat  over 
six  feet,  and  proportionally  slender.  His  appearance  seem'  d 
prophetic  of  the  approach  of  consumption,  the  disease  which,  I 
think,  finally  terminated  his  life.  He  was  of  light  complexion, 
and  had  a  light  blue  eye,  with  a  general  expression  of  countenance 
indicative  rather  of  the  milder  than  the  sterner  qualities.  His 
manner  in  private  intercourse  was  modest  and  retiring,  and,  though 
he  conversed  intelligently  and  appropriately,  he  seemed  rather 
disposed  to  follow  than  to  lead.  As  to  his  intellect  I  should  be 
at  a  loss  to  say  what  faculty  was  the  more  prominent.  His  mind 
seemed  distinguished  rather  for  a  symmetrical  and  equable  con- 
stitution than  for  a  striking  develojDment  at  any  single  point.  I 
take  it  that  his  most  prominent  characteristic  was  that  earnest 
and  heroic  devotion  to  the  cause  of  Christ,  which  led  him  to  give 
himself  to  the  Foreign  Missionary  enterprise,  and  sustained  him 
nobly  in  that  Avork  as  long  as  he  lived.  A  very  slight  acquaint- 
ance with  him  would  reveal  the  fact  that  the  great  objects  and 
interests  upon  which  his  heart  was  fixed  lay  beyond  this  world. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  181 

It  was  manifest  that  his  whole  soul  was  embarked  in  the  effort  to 
save  the  souls  of  the  poor  heathen,  and  that  whatever  stood  in 
the  way  of  this  was  either  resolutely  encountered  or  cheerfully 
sacrificed.  The  results  of  his  labors  show  that  he  performed  them 
in  communion  with  the  Lord  his  Strength.  As  the  first  American 
Lutheran  Missionary  who  fell  in  the  foreign  field,  his  name  will 
always  remain  fragrant  throughout  our  Church." 

FROM  THE  KEV.  CHART.ES  A.   HAY,   D.  D. 

Rev.  and  Dear  Sir  :  As  a  fellow  student  of  the  Rev.  "Walter 
Gunn,  in  the  Theological  Seminary  of  the  Lutheran  Church  at 
Gettysburg,  I  became  somewhat  intimately  acquainted  with  him, 
and  have  always  cherished  his  memory  with  peculiar  pleasure. 
Naturally  timid  and  reserved,  and  completely  absorbed  in  the 
great  work  to  which  he  had  devoted  his  life,  he  did  not  seek  the 
society  of  others,  but  rather  shrank  from  their  notice,  and  seemed 
to  think  no  moment  properly  employed  unless,  in  some  way,  it 
was  made  to  facilitate  his  improvement  in  the  essential  qualifica- 
tions for  winning  souls  to  Christ  among  the  Heathen. 

Perhaps  the  most  striking  feature  of  his  character  was  his  sin- 
gleness of  purjyose.  He  gave  himself  up  wholly  and  heartily  to 
one  controlling  idea — the  great  idea  of  the  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles 
— "  that  I  might,  by  all  means,  save  some."  Rarely  do  we  meet 
with  any  one  so  regardless  of  all  else,  so  indifferent  to  the  opinions 
of  those  around  him,  so  free  from  all  desire  for  human  ap])lause, 
so  eagerly  intent  upon  doing  only  his  duty.  The  work  of  Missions 
was  to  him  the  object  of  life.  He  thought  and  spoke  of  it  by  day, 
he  dreamed  of  it  by  night.  It  was  his  meat  and  his  drink.  Nor 
was  this  an  unintelligent  enthusiasm  or  a  romantic  passion,  but  a 
true  love  of  souls,  embracing  those  near  at  hand  with  ardent  af- 
fection, and  seeming  to  glow  with  greater  intensity  as  it  expanded 
and  included  those  far  distant  and  far  more  destitute.  It  was  a 
deeply  rooted  conviction  of  the  duty  of  Christ's  followers  to  be 
intently  engaged  in  the  great  work  of  winning  individual  souls  to 
Him.  The  preciousness  of  one  soul  was  a  theme  upon  which  he 
delighted  to  dwell,  and  he  seemed  willing  to  undergo  any  priva- 
tion and  perform  any  amount  of  labor  if  he  might  but  persuade 
a  fellow  sinner  to  be  reconciled  to  God.  From  this  it  will  be 
readily  inferred  that  his  influence  upon  his  fellow  students  was 
highly  salutary  ;  and  the  records  of  the  institution  will  probably 
12 


182  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

show  that  at  no  period  of  its  history  was  there  greater  raissionary 
zeal  among  its  inmates  or  greater  activity  in  the  work  of  Home- 
Evangelization  than  during  the  year  when  Brother  Gunn  enjoyed 
its  privileges. 


REV.    EZRA    KELLER 


was  as  perfect  a  man  as  I  ever  knew,  and  this  is  the  testimony  of 
all  who  were  acquainted  with  him.  The  following  letters  from 
men  who  were  better  acquainted  with  him  than  I  was  give  an  un- 
exaggerated  picture  of  his  character,  and  I  will  let  them  speak : 


FROM  PROFESSOU  M.  I..  STOEVF.R. 


His  countenance  indicated  some  degree  of  sternness,  but  there 
seemed  beneath  much  tenderness  of  feeling,  and  great  kindness 
and  benevolence.  His  elevated  tone  of  conversation  and  his  dig- 
nified and  sedate  manner  left  an  impression  on  my  mind  that  was 
altogether  agreeable ;  and  the  only  effect  of  my  being  brought 
into  more  intimate  relations  with  him  was  that  the  same  impres- 
sion was  rendered  deeper  ;  especially  I  had  a  stronger  sense  of  his 
great  moral  worth,  and  of  the  purity  and  force  of  his  principles. 
He  was  at  that  time  a  member  of  the  Junior  class  in  Pennsylvania 
College,  holding  a  high  rank  in  the  institution,  and  exerting  an 
influence  for  good  which  it  is  seldom  the  privilege  of  a  student  to 
exert.  He  commanded  the  respect  of  all,  and  possessed  the  warm 
esteem  of  those  who  knew  him  more  intimately.  His  very  appear- 
ance was  a  check  to  levity  and  thoughtlessness.  His  Christian 
character  seemed  eminently  consistent.  He  was  regular  in  his 
attendance  on  all  college  duties,  and  faithful  to  every  engagement 
that  claimed  his  attention.  The  same  traits  of  character  he  after- 
wards exhibited  when  he  was  called  to  act  in  more  public  stations. 

Next  to  the  devoted  and  all-pervading  piety  which,  I  should 
say,  constituted  the  most  prominent  feature  in  Dr.  Keller's  char- 
acter, or  rather  made  it  essentially  what  it  was,  I  may  mention 
his  remarkable  moral  courage,  which  was  adequate  to  any  emer- 
gency requiring  its  exercise.  He  was  fearless  in  the  advocacy  of 
such  measures  as  he  thought  were  right,  regardless  of  the  praise 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  183 

or  the  censure  of  his  fellow  men.  "  Not  as  pleasing  man  but 
God"  was  the  great  motto  of  his  life,  and  to  this  he  adhered  with 
stern  and  unwavering  fidelity.  He  had  great  force  of  character, 
which  gave  him  more  than  ordinary  influence  over  those  with 
whom  he  was  associated.  He  was  remarkable  for  his  untiring 
energy  and  indomitable  perseverance-.  In  youth  he  had  formed 
habits  of  self-reliance  which  he  carried  with  him  through  life. 
Whatever  he  undertook  was  almost  certain  to  succeed. 

As  a  preacher  Dr.  Keller  possessed  no  small  ability .  He  never 
failed  to  gain  and  hold  the  attention  of  his  audience.  His  dis- 
courses were  lucid,  biblical,  practical  and  weighty.  They  were 
remarkable  for  simple  and  pertinent  illustration,  and  abounded 
in  pathetic  and  touching  allusions.  He  never  attempted  to  ex- 
plain what  was  inexplicable,  never  strayed  off  into  the  region  of 
metaphysical  subtlety,  but  contented  himself  with  preaching  the 
doctrines  and  precepts  of  the  gospel  in  all  their  naked  simplicity 
and  purity.  His  manner  was  solemn  and  impressive,  earnest  and 
affectionate.  The  tones  of  his  voice  were  clear,  full  and  com- 
manding, his  enunciation  easy  and  distinct,  his  gesture  natural, 
while  his  personal  appearance,  and  especially  the  expression  of 
his  countenance,  served  to  aid,  in  no  small  degree,  the  general  ef- 
fect. In  public  prayer  he  was  alike  felicitous  in  his  expressions 
and  devout  in  his  manner.  No  one  who  heard  him  could  resist 
the  conviction  that  the  spirit  which  he  breathed  was  imbibed  in 
the  closet,  and  that  the  petitions  ascended  from  a  heart  in  w^hich 
the  Sanctifier  and  the  Comforter  had  his  constant  dwelling  place. 

Dr.  Keller's  services  were  much  in  demand  in  seasons  of  unusual 
religious  interest,  and  they  were  on  many  such  occasions  attended 
with  a  manifest  blessing.  I  heard  him  several  times  in  the  spring 
of  1843,  when  his  preaching  produced  an  impression  not  soon  to 
be  forgotten.  His  earnest  expostulations,  his  tender  and  thrilling 
appeals,  the  deep  concern  he  manifested  in  the  sinner's  welfare, 
excited  an  interest  such  as  I  have  rarely  witnessed,  and  crowded 
the  place  of  worship  with  attentive  and  deeply  aftected  listeners. 

Dr.  Keller  was  a  very  successful  pastor.  He  kept  a  faithful 
watch  over  his  flock.  He  was  instant  in  season  and  out  of  season. 
He  was  equally  at  home  in  the  sick  chamber  and  the  house  of 
mourning,  and  knew  how  to  speak  a  word  in  season  to  the  doubt- 
ing and  the  erring,  the  inconstant  and  the  wayward.  Kindness 
and  firmness  were  blended  in  his  character  in  beautiful  proper- 


184  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

tions,  rendering  him  everywhere  at  once  acceptable  and  useful-, 
and  securing  to  him  a  warm  place  in  the  hearts  of  all  with  whom 
he  associated. 

I  will  only  add  that  Dr.  Keller  possessed  excellent  natural  abil- 
ities. His  mind  acted  with  great  directness,  clearness  and  force, 
readily  grasping  the  strong  points  of  every  subject  that  engaged 
his  attention.  He  possessed  strong  common  sense,  an  accurate 
judgment  and  a  penetrating  foresight.  Had  he  been  spared  to 
advanced  life  there  is  no  doubt  that  he  would  have  attained  a 
rank  among  the  most  distinguished  ministers  of  his  day;  and, 
notwithstanding  his  early  death,  he  has  left  behind  him  a  name 
that  will  long  remain  fragrant  in  many  a  circle 

FROM  THE  REV.  SAMUEL  SPRECHER,  D.  D.,  PRESIDENT  OP  WITTENBERG  COLLEGE. 

He  was  a  man  of  strong  passions,  but,  having  by  Divine  grace 
brought  them  under  the  control  of  reason  and  conscience,  he  be- 
came one  of  the  most  calm  and  considerate,  as  well  as  one  of  the 
most  determined  and  energetic  men  I  ever  saw.  In  the  earlier 
part  of  his  career,  while  struggling  with  poverty,  it  was  connected 
with  a  tinge  of  severity  bordering  on  moroseness,  and  a  tone  of 
austerity  in  his  manner  almost  repulsive.  Afterwards,  when  in 
more  comfortable  circumstances,  that  same  great  spirit  went  out 
nmong  his  followers  with  a  peculiar  generosity,  kindness  and  ten- 
derness. Sometimes  there  was,  however,  even  in  those  early  days, 
much  playfulness  in  his  sarcasm.  At  an  entertainment  given  to 
his  class  on  their  graduation,  he  was  sitting  apart  while  the  com- 
pany was  engaged  in  the  trifling  conversation  which  is  too  common 
on  such  occasions,  when,  on  being  accosted  by  one  of  them  with 
the  remark — "  You  must  be  pondering  some  great  subject,  Mr. 
Keller,  as  you  are  so  silent."  "  Yes,"  he  said,  "  I  am  wondering 
how  intelligent  young  gentlemen  and  ladies  can  talk  so  much 
nonsense."  I  recollect,  on  one  occasion,  a  report  of  most  disgrace- 
ful conduct  in  a  minister  got  into  circulation,  and,  while  his  best 
friends  in  the  neighborhood  failed  to  inform  him  of  it.  Dr.  K., 
though  living  at  a  distance,  as  soon  as  it  reached  his  ear,  wrote  to 
that  brother,  who  instantly  demanded  an  investigation,  which  re- 
sulted in  the  most  complete  proof  that  the  charge  was  a  malicious 
slander.  His  firmness  was  so  remarkable  that  an  opponent  of  his 
once  said  to  me  in  the  way  of  complaint — "  We  have  no  remedy; 
when  he  says  a  thing  we  may  as  well  give  up;  it  will  be  done." 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  185 

On  the  doadi  of  a  very  worthy  youth,  a  student  of  Witteiiherg 
College,  he,  as  President  of  the  institution,  was  invited  by  the 
father,  who  was  an  infidel,  to  pronounce  a  eulogy,  but  requested 
not  to  preach  a  sermon.  Dr.  K.  positively  refused  to  say  one 
word  unless  he  were  permitted  to  declare  what  he  believed  to  be 
the  whole  counsel  of  God.  After  much  hesitation  the  father  con- 
sented, but  remarked — "  I  hope  you  will  spare  us  as  much  an  you 
can."  A  congregation  in  his  neighborhood  was  in  a  divided  and 
distracted  state,  when  he  was  invited  by  the  Council  to  preside  at 
a  congregational  meeting  held  for  the  jDurpose  of  electing  a  pas- 
tor. Though  he  knew  that  he  should  make  for  himself  many  en- 
emies by  the  course  which  he  would  feel  bound  to  take  in  the 
execution  of  constitutional  provisions,  he  unhesitatingly  performed 
the  duty,  and  then  wrote  to  the  brother,  who  was  elected  in  the 
midst  of  great  opiDOsition,  in  a  tone  of  earnestness,  nay,  almost  of 
command,  to  accept  the  post  of  difficulty  and  save,  as  he  believed 
under  God  he  could  save,  a  church  from  ruin.  And,  induced  in  a 
great  measure  by  his  confidence  in  the  wisdom  as  well  as  the 
firmness  of  Dr.  Keller,  that  brother  took  the  step  j^roposed,  and 
the  result  justified  the  expectations  that  were  held  out  to  him. 
The  people  were  not  only  fully  united  in  due  time,  but  those  who 
were  most  bitterly  opposed  to  the  interposition  of  Dr.  K.,  and  to 
the  pastor  elected,  became  the  pastor's  best  friends,  and  after- 
wards, on  his  leaving  his  charge  in  a  state  of  great  prosperity  for 
another  field  of  labor,  they  were  as  loth  to  part  with  him  as  they 
had  been  to  receive  him. 

And  this  great  man,  so  strong  in  his  determination,  was  as  sim- 
ple as  a  child  in  his  confession  of  conscious  error.  In  a  literary 
contest  with  another  student  at  college,  he  was  led,  in  the  chagrin 
of  disappointed  ambition  v  (for,  as  I  have  said,  his  passions  were 
strong),  to  utter  charges  against  his  rival,  which  he  quickly  dis- 
covered had  no  foundation  in  truth.  He  not  only  made  full  con- 
fession of  the  wrong  to  that  individual,  but  availed  himself  of 
every  opportunity  to  correct  the  wrong  impression,  and  make  all 
possible  reparation  for  the  injury. 

My  latest  recollection  of  Dr.  Keller  is  most  tender  and  imjireS- 
sive.  On  his  last  visit  to  the  East,  only  two  months  before  his 
lamented  death,  he  spent  a  few  days  with  me,  and  made  impres- 
sions on  my  mind  Avhich  time  cannot  efface.  There  was  a  meek 
dignity,  earnestness  and  tenderness,  connected  with  an  elevation, 


186  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

enlargement  and  benevolence  of  feeling,  which  I  have  never  seen 
so  fully  exhibited  in  any  other  man.  He  preached  to  us  on  "  doing 
good."  It  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  say  that  he  was  very  elo- 
quent ;  but  as  his  was  moral  greatness,  and  as  he  Avas  distinguished 
for  his  practical  power,  I  may  say  that  never  did  an  audience 
realize  more  fully  that  doing  good,  in  the  very  spirit  of  Jesus,  was 
the  characteristic  of  the  preacher,  and  the  soul  of  his  eloquence. 
And  though  he  seeemed  to  be  in  good  health,  having  become  more 
fleshy  than  he  was  before  he  left  the  East,  and  though  he  spoke 
most  confidently  and  gratefully  of  his  strong  and  improved  health, 
yet  there  was  such  a  peculiar  spirituality,  such  an  almost  super- 
human solemnity  about  him,  that  I  felt  a  reverence  for  him  more 
profound  than  I  have  ever  realized  in  the  presence  of  a  fellow 
mortal. 

Among  other  things  which  I  hope  I  shall  never  forget,  is  the 
following:  —  He  seemed  greatly  concerned  about  the  state  of  re- 
ligion in  our  branch  of  the  church,  and  deeply  impressed  with  the 
idea  that  there  was  a  decline  in  spirituality  ;  that  a  reaction  of 
error  and  formalism  against  the  evangelical  sentiments  and  the 
revival^  spirit,  which  had,  for  many  years,  been  prevalent  within 
the  bounds  of  the  General  Synod  of  our  Church,  was  coming  down 
upon  us.  I  had  conducted  him,  in  the  course  of  our  conversation, 
to  a  beautiful  cemetery  belonging  to  one  of  the  churches  of  the 
place,  and  was  pointing  out  to  him,  occasionally,  some  of  the  at- 
tractions of  the  grounds,  when  he  requested  me  to  be  seated  with 
him  on  one  of  the  tombs ;  and  then,  alluding  to  the  evidence 
which  he  had  presented  of  the  reality  of  the  evils  which  threatened 
the  church,  he  most  solemnly  charged  me  to  be  faithful  to  the 
truth  and  cause  of  God  in  the  anticipated  trial.  A2:>pealing  to 
the  fact  that  I,  as  well  as  he,  had  satisfactory  evidence  that  the 
sentiments  in  which  we  had  been  educated  were  evangelical,  and 
that  the  revival  of  religion  with  which  a  large  part  of  the  church 
had  been  favored'for  a  quarter  of  a  century  was  genuine,  he  charged 
me  to  be  faithful  to  them,  to  be  careful  not  to  be  seduced  by  the 
delusions  which  he  thought  were  accumulating  around  us.  Such 
seemed  to  be  the  habitual  sj^irit  of  this  devoted  servant  of  God. 

FROM    THE   REV.  WILLIAM    M.   PAXTON,  D.  D.,  THEN    PROFESSOR    IN    THE    (PRESBY- 
TERIAN) THEOIiOGICAL-SEMINARY,  ALLEGHANY  CITY,  PA. 

He  was  one  of  those  men  who  impressed  themselves  upon  my 
memory  in  boyhood,  and,  although  many  years  have  passed  since, 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  3  87 

he  comes  up  before  me  at  this  moment,  in  person  and  character, 
as  distinctly  as  if  I  had  parted  with  him  but  yesterday. 

Ezra  Keller  was  then  a  member  of  the  Senior  class  of  Pennsyl- 
vania College,  and  I,  a  little  boy,  receiving,  under  Frederici's 
cogent  discipline,  my  first  initiation  into  the  mysteries  of  declen- 
sions and  conjugations.  To  my  youthful  imagination  a  Senior 
was  an  object  of  no  small  reverence  ;  but  among  the  many  men  of 
mark  in  that  class,  there  was  no  one  who  made  so  deep  and  abi- 
ding an  impression  upon  my  mind  as  Ezra  Keller.  There  was  some- 
thing, even  then,  in  his  aspect  and  demeanor,  that  produced  a 
solemn  and  inspiring  impression,  not  only  upon  his  own  equals  in 
age,  but  even  upon  men  of  mature  minds  and  large  experience. 
I  can  see  him,  even  now,  as  he  entered  the  College  yard  at  the 
hour  of  morning  recitation — his  deliberate  step,  his  self-possessed, 
impressive  manner,  his  unusually  genteel  appearance,  his  minis- 
terial air,  his  broad,  heavy  face  and  expansive  forehead,  his  meas- 
ured, solemn  tones  of  voice,  his  deeply  spiritual  and  devotional 
cast  of  countenance — all  combining  to  foreshadow  the  very  char- 
acteristics for  which  he  was  afterwards  so  much  distinguished. 
He  was  perhaps  the  oldest,  and  certainly  the  most  mature,  student 
in  the  institution ;  and  this,  together  with  his  superior  mind, 
his  accurate  scholarship,  and  his  manifest  and  acknoAvledged  sanc- 
tity, rendered  him  a  sort  of  oracle  in  the  College.  Among  the 
pious  students  his  influence  was  truly  wonderful,  his  opinion  on 
almost  any  qiiestion  being  regarded  as  decisive.  In  matters  of 
practical  religion  he  was  looked  up  to  as  a  model.  His  simple 
presence  would  repress  all  levity ;  his  warmth  of  devotional  feel- 
ing enkindled  other  hearts;  his  consistency  exemplified  the  true 
law  of  the  Christian  life ;  his  zeal  stimulated  every  Christian 
enterprise;  and  the  spirituality  and  earnestness  of  his  daily  life 
gave  impression  and  tone  to  the  religious  circle  in  which  he  moved. 

Among  my  most  vivid  recollections  of  that  period  was  a  literary 
contest  in  which  he  bore  a  consjiicuous  part.  The  rivalry  between 
the  two  Literary  Societies  was,  at  that  time,  very  strong,  but 
strictly  honorable.  Keller  was  the  champion  of  the  Phrenakos- 
mian  Society,  whilst  the  Philomathean  was  represented  by  a  man 
of  rare  gifts  and  unusually  popular  eloquence.  The  prospect  of 
such  a  literary  rencontre  awakened  quite  an  excitement  among 
the  students,  and  enlisted  the  interest  of  the  whole  community. 
When  the  evening  for  the  contest  arrived,  long  before  the  chime 


188  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

of  bells  on  the  old  Lutheran  Church  signalled  the  procession  to 
start  from  the  College,  the  church  (with  the  exception  of  the  seats 
reserved  for  the  students)  was  filled  to  overflowing  with  an  excited 
crowd,  drawn  from  all  classes  in  the  town,  and  to  some  extent  from 
the  surrounding  country.  Both  the  combatants  acquitted  them- 
selves admirably ;  but,  as  there  were  no  judges  appointed,  no 
award  of  superiority  was  made,  and,  the  audience  being  divided 
in  sentiment,  the  public  discussed  the  merits  of  the  two  speakers 
as  warmly  as  they  had  discussed  the  merits  of  the  question.  The 
truth  was  that  the  gifts  of  the  two  debaters  were  so  entirely  dif- 
ferent that  they  could  not  well  be  compared.  Mr.  Keller's  portion 
of  the  debate  was  a  masterly  argument,  characterized  by  that 
vigorous,  massive,  logical  power  of  thought,  which  afterwards 
made  him  so  able  a  Theologian  and  such  a  successful  teacher.  The 
other  part  of  the  debate  was  a  splendid,  eloquent  oration,  display- 
ing such  brilliant  genius  and  rare  jDOwers  of  popular  oratory  as 
called  forth  the  prediction  (which  has  been  fully  verified)  that  the 
speaker  would  make  one  of  the  most  eloquent  and  popular  preach- 
ers in  the  Lutheran  Church. 

Another  recollection,  which  I  cannot  omit  to  record,  dates  some 
years  later.  After  Dr.  Keller  had  been  settled,  for  some  time,  in 
the  ministry,  he  returned  to  Gettysburg,  and  preached  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Conrad,  in  the  College  Church,  during  a 
protracted  meeting  in  the  winter  of  1843.  It  was  a  time  of  won- 
derful religious  impression.  The  preaching  was  blessed  to  the 
awakening  of  many  persons  in  town  ;  and  such  was  the  efi'ect  j)ro- 
duced  upon  the  College  that  I  do  not  think  there  were  more  than 
two  or  three  students  who  did  not  give  evidence  of  some  concern 
about  the  salvation  of  their  souls.  I  Avas,  at  the  time,  a  member 
of  the  Senior  class,  and  well  remember  the  jDreaching  of  Dr.  Kel- 
ler, and  especially  one  sermon,  which  was  among  the  first  instru- 
mentalities that  led  me  to  serious  reflection.  The  sermon  presented 
three  vivid  portraitures, — -the  sinner,  first,  in  his  carelessness, 
second,  under  conviction  ;  and  third,  laying  hold  on  Christ.  The 
first  picture,  that  of  an  impenitent,  careless  sinner,  was  so  true  to 
life,  exhibiting  so  graphically  the  state  of  his  thoughts  and  feel- 
ings, that  I  was  alarmed,  and  felt  as  if  I  were  myself  the  subject 
which  the  preacher  was  sketching.  So  deeply  were  my  feelings 
wrought  upon  that,  when  he  came  to  the  second  picture, — that  of 
the  convinced  sinner, — I  felt  again  that  this  was  precisely  my  con- 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  189 

dition  ;  and  wlien  he  passed  to  the  third,  and  described  the  sinner 
laying  hold  on  Christ,  he  carried  me  along  by  a  powerful  con- 
straint, and  left  me  nearer  the  Cross  than  I  had  ever  been  before. 
The  whole  sermon  was  pronounced  with  great  calmness  and  delib- 
eration, but  there  was  such  clearness  of  statement,  such  an  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  workings  of  the  human  heart,  such  vividness  of 
delineation  and  pungency  of  application,  as  showed  that  he  was 
possessed  of  unusual  qualifications  for  j^ulpit  efficiency. 


DR.    LEWIS    EICHELBERGER 

was  born  in  Frederick  county,  Md.,  on  the  25th  of  August,  1803, 
so  that  at  his  death  he  had  just  entered  upon  his  57th  year. 

At  the  early  age  of  ten  or  eleven  years  we  find  the  subject  of 
this  notice  in  the  school  of  Kev.  Dr.  Schaeifer,  of  Frederick,  Md. 
Not  a  few  of  the  clergymen  of  our  church  received  their  early 
training  at  that  school.  Subsequently  he  was  removed  to  George- 
town, D.  C,  and  whilst  boarding  in  the  family  of  a  married  sister, 
attended  the  classical  school  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Carnahan,  who  after- 
wards became  distinguished  as  the  President  of  Princeton  College. 

From  Georgetown  he  was  transferred  to  Dickinson  College, 
Carlisle,  Pa.,  by  which  Institution  he  was  graduated  ^ept.  27th, 
1826.  From  the  "  order  of  exercises  of  that  commencement,  we 
see  that  the  deceased  was  a  classmate  of  the  Hev.  Dr.  Baugher, 
President  of  Pennsylvania  College,  and  of  George  Buchanan, 
brother  of  the  President  of  the  United  States.  The  Valedictory, 
noted  as  the  first  honor,  was  taken  by  Mr.  Buchanan  ;  the  Latin 
Salutatory,  a  second  honor,  was  given  to  Dr.  Baugher  ;  and  the 
English  Salutatory,  also  a  second  honor,  was  assigned  to  Dr.  Eich- 
elberger. 

From  College  he  at  once  removed  to  the  newly  organized  Theo- 
logical Seminary  at  Gettysburg,  and  became  a  member  of  the  first 
class  formed  in  that  Institution,  and  one  of  its  first  graduates. 
After  spending  two  years  in  the  study  of  Theology,  he  was  licensed 
to  preach  the  Gospel  by  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Synod  of  Mary- 
land and  Virginia,  convened  in  Shepherdstown,  Oct.  21st,  1828. 


190  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Whilst  yet  a  student  of  Theology,  he  accepted  an  urgent  invi- 
tation from  the  council  of  the  Lutheran  church  of  Winchester, 
Va.,  to  visit  them  and  preach  for  them.  The  result  of  this  visit 
was  his  unanimous  election  as  pastor  of  the  congregation.  Imme- 
diately after  his  licensure  he  repaired  to  his  new  field  of  labor, 
and  at  once  commenced  his  duties. 

His  "ministerial  journal"  shows  an  amount  of  service  and  a 
degree  of  fidelity  worthy  of  all  praise.  In  connection  with  the 
church  in  Winchester,  he  served  three  congregations  in  the  coun- 
try. Having  been  vacant  for  a  considerable  time  prior  to  his 
settlement  over  them,  some  of  these  congregations  were  much 
scattered  and  distracted,  but  in  all  of  them  great  good  seems  to 
have  been  accomplished. 

This  connection  continued  until  May  1st,  1833  (a  period  of  four 
years  and  six  months),  when  the  charge  of  the  church  in  Win- 
chester was  resigned,  but  that  of  the  country  churches  retained. 
About  this  time  Dr.  Eichelberger  opened  a  female  school  in  this 
place  known  as  Angevona  Seminary,  and  shortly  after  became 
proprietor  and  editor  of  a  weekly  journal  still  known  as  "  The 
Virginian.'"  In  these  several  occupations  he  continued  actively 
and  usefully  engaged  until  the  year  1849,  when  he  was  elected  to 
the  Professorship  of  Theology  in  the  Lutheran  Seminary  at  Lex- 
ington, S.  0.  At  first  he  declined  the  appointment,  but  was 
induced  to  change  his  decision,  and  he  then  removed  from  Win- 
chester, after  a  residence  of  more  than,  twenty  years.  As  Pro- 
fessor of  Theology  he  labored  with  the  same  untiring  diligence 
and  conscientious  fidelity  with  which  all  his  preceding  duties  had 
been  discharged.  He  continued  to  serve  the  church  in  that  re- 
sponsible capacity  until  impaired  health  made  it  proper  for  him 
to  ask  a  release.  In  the  year  1853,  his  position  and  attainments 
were  suitably  recognized  by  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  influential 
literary  institutions  of  our  country.  The  honorary  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Divinity  was  conferred  by  Princeton  College.  He  re- 
signed his  Professorship  in  March,  1858,  and  immediately  returned 
to  Winchester,  warmly  welcomed  by  many  ardent  friends.  His 
time,  however,  was  not  without  its  appropriate  employment.  He 
eagerly  seized  the  leisure  at  his  disposal  for  the  execution  of  a 
long  cherished  purpose  to  prepare  for  the  press  a  compact  and 
popular  '^History  of  the  Lutheran  Church,"  for  which  he  had 
made  extensive  preparation  in  the  collection  of  materials,  and  the 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  191 

sketching  of  chapters,  as  other  duties  permitted,  or  other  pursuits 
and  studies  furnished  opportunities.  Although  frequently  inter- 
rupted by  illness  and  much  disabled  by  bodily  weakness,  he  yet 
lived  to  finish  his  last  work  of  love  to  his  church,  of  which  he 
was  ever  an  admiring,  loyal  son,  and  a  faithful,  self-denying  ser- 
vant. Death  found  him  with  the  harness  still  on,  ready  to  do  or 
die  as  his  Lord  might  order.  His  death  was  peace,  was  triumph. 
It  was  a  privilege  which  shall  never  be  forgotten  to  see  his  heav- 
enly composure,  and  to  hear  his  dying  utterances.  When  he  had 
but  strength  to  whisper  a  few  words  at  a  time,  he  said  to  a  brother 
in  the  ministry — "  Christ  is  a  precious  Saviour — he  does  more  than 
he  2)i'omises  for  his  dying  followers.  Go,  preach  to  simiers,  Christ 
will  save  them  all.     Nothing  hut  Christ  will  do  in  death." 

He  was  very  much  beloved  by  all  for  whom  and  with  whom  he 
labored,  and  was  universally  respected  and  esteemed  wherever  he 
he  lived.  He  was  twice  married,  and  left  a  widow  and  five 
children  to  mourn  their  loss,  and  cherish  his  memory. 

Dr.  Eichelberger  was  an  eminently  pious  man,  a  devoted  Chris- 
tian, an  able  and  faithful  preacher  and  teacher,  and  an  affection- 
ate and  sympathising  friend  and  pastor.  He  always  manifested 
great  simplicity  of  character,  exemplifying  the  humble  virtues 
and  meek  adornments  of  the  child  of  God. 


HENRY    LEWIS   BAUGHER 

was  born  in  Abbottslown,  Adams  county,  Pa.,  in  1804.  His 
preparation  for  college  life  he  received  at  the  Gettysburg  Academy, 
then  under  the  care  of  Rev.  Dr.  McConaughy.  He  was  graduated 
at  Dickinson  College  in  1826,  and  entered  the  Theological  Semi- 
nary at  Princeton  the  same  year.  Subsequently,  he  became  a 
student  in  the  Seminary  at  Gettysburg.  He  was  licensed  to 
preach  by  the  West  Pennsylvania  Synod  in  1828.  In  1829  he 
joined  the  Synod  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  and  soon  after 
became  pastor  of  the  church  at  Boonsboro,  which  was  the  only 
pastoral  charge  he  ever  had,  except  his  connection  with  the  col- 
lege church  at  Gettysburg  for  several  years. 


192  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY. 

He- was  called  to  Gettysburg  in  April,  1831,  as  classical  teacher 
in  the  place  of  Rev.  T>.  Jacobs,  deceased,  in  the  Gettysburg 
Gymnasium. 

When  Pennsylvania  College  was  chartered,  in  1832,  Mr.  Baugher 
was  elected  to  the  chair  of  Greek  and  Belles  Lettres.  This  posi- 
tion he  filled  until  the  fall  of  1850,  when  he  was  elected  to  the 
Presidency.  He  held  this  ofSce  nearly  eighteen  years.  He  died 
just  as  the  senior  year  closed,  April  14th,  1868.  He  was  confined 
to  his  chamber  only  about  a  week,  but  his  health  had  been  declin- 
ing for  a  year  or  two  before. 

His  strong  will  continued  to  the  last,  and  he  thought  he  would 
recover  his  health,  even  on  the  morning  of  the  day  on  which  he 
died.  When  told  of  the  opinion  of  the  physicians,  he  replied  : 
"  The  Lord's  will  be  done." 

Mr.  Baugher  received  the  degree  of  D.  D.  from  Dickinson  Col- 
lege in  1848,  to  which  his  name  was  proposed  by  a  person  who 
he  never  suspected  would  render  such  service  to  him. 

One  of  my  correspondents  writes  :  "  Dr.  Baugher  was  a  good 
man,  and  wanted  to  do  good.  He  was  very  much  interested  in 
the  college,  and  earnestly  labored  to  advance  its  welfare.  If  his 
prejudices  had  been  less  strong,  and  his  character  less  impulsive, 
he  would,  no  doubt,  have  been  a  more  useful  man  and  more  gen- 
erally beloved  by  those  who  were  brought  in  contact  with  him. 
He  labored  faithfully,  and  I  often  think  of  him  now  as  resting. 
If  he  were  now  living,  he  would  worry  over  matters  which,  after 
all,  are  of  very  little  importance." 

Dr.  Baugher  was  a  general  reader,  but  his  favorite  reading,  as 
it  should  be  with  all  divines,  was  his  Greek  Testament.  Homer 
was  also  read  for  recreation.  His  daily  habit  was,  an  hour  before 
breakfast  in  private  prayer  and  meditation  and  nearly  an  hour 
with  his  Greek  Testament.  After  breakfast,  study  or  college  work 
all  day. 

After  his  graduation,  he  intended  to  study  law  with  Frank 
Key,  of  Washington,  but  he  began  to  think  that  if  he  did  that  it 
might  endanger  his  spiritisal  welfare.  His  mother  had  made  it 
a  constant  prayer  that  God  would  direct  her  youngest  son  to  the 
ministry,  and  her  prayer  was  heard. 

He  was  a  diligent  writer  of  sermons,  and  one  of  his  sons  tells 
me  that  "he  had  stacks  of  them." 

Dr.  Baugher  was  a  severe  and  exemplary  moralist.     He  never 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  193 

sanctioned  among  clergymen  and  Christian  people  what  many  re- 
gai'ded  as  innocent  amusements,  such  as  chess  or  chequers,  and  I 
doubt  whether  he  would  now  sanction  croquet,  which  has  since 
become  a  popular  clerical  amusement. 

lie  was  a  puritanic  observer  of  what  he  called  the  Sabbath,  and 
severely  temperate  in  all  things. 

He  was  regarded  by  some  as  stern,  or  what  is  called  "abrupt," 
and  there  is  no  doubt  that  he  was  an  unsparing  critic.  Hence,  he 
was  not  liked  by  some  who  did  not  intimately  know  him.  He 
was,  perhaps,  a  little  too  free  in  expressing  his  sentiments :  he 
never  disguised  his  opinion  on  any  subject ;  he  despised  duplicity 
of  every  kind  ;  and,  on  all  measures  and  subjects,  you  could  easily 
find  out  what  he  thought,  if  you  wanted  to  know. 

When  he  was  elected  President  of  the  college,  I  was  appointed 
to  go  to  his  house  and  inform  him,  and  to  receive  his  answer. 
He  scarcely  gave  me  time  to  announce  my  message,  before  he 
abruptly  replied  :  "  I  will  not  accept  it."  He  had  taken  no  time 
to  deliberate,  and  I  knew  his  manner  too  well  to  believe  that  this 
would  be  his  final  determination.  He  subsequently  accepted  the 
call,  and  presided  over  the  college  for  nearly  eighteen  years  with 
distinguished  success. 

He  had  administrative  talent  of  the  first  class.  As  a  disciplina- 
rian he  was  stern,  yet  kindly  considerate  of  the  infirmities  and 
temptations  of  young  men. 

He  never  aimed  at  authorship  of  the  highest  character,  but  his 
published  sermons,  baccalaureate  addresses,  Review  and  Observer 
articles,  are  forcibly  written,  and  display  an  uncommon  share  of 
solid,  good  sense,  without  any  rhetorical  flourishes  of  style  or 
affectation  of  -what  some  call  fine  writing. 

His  Presbyterian  training  influenced  the  character  of  his  The- 
ology, although  he  was  in  no  proper  sense  a  Calvinist. 

In  the  pulpit,  he  was  instructive,  solid,  evangelical,  and  yet 
plain,  and  sometimes  rising  to  impressive  earnestness.  He  con- 
tinued all  his  life  to  be  a  close  reader  of  his  sermons,  and  this 
detracted  somewhat  from  his  freedom  of  speech  and  the  natural 
impulses  of  his  disposition.  H  he  had  always  preached  as  he 
spoke  on  the  floor  of  the  Synod  or  of  other  deliberative  bodies, 
he  would  have  been  one  of  our  most  impressive  pulpit  orators. 

Dr.  Baugher  had  a  vein  of  satire  in  his  mental  composition 
which,  if  cultivated  and  exercised,  would  have  acquired  him  rep- 


194  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

utation  as  a  writer,  as  well  as  more  enemies  than  lie  had.  It  is 
known  to  very  few  of  us  that  he  Avas  the  writer  of  an  article  in 
"The  Lutheran,"  entitled  "  The  Lion  Hunter,"  which  gave  seri- 
ous offence  in  Gettysburg,  and  Avhich  was  severely  denounced  by 
such  amiable  men  even  as  Dr.  Krauth  ;  but  nobody  knew  that 
the  author  was  one  of  their  own  residents,  and  who,  with  a  grim 
satisfaction,  heard  himself  and  his  piece  fiercely  abused.  He  had 
projected  a  series  of  similar  articles,  but  he  concluded  to  abandon 
the  idea  of  publishing  them. 

Dr.  Baugher's  hospitality  was  unbounded,  and,  though  he  had 
the  name  of  being  stern  and  too  outspoken  in  his  views  of  men 
and  things,  yet  he  had  a  kind  and  forgiving  heart.  His  conver- 
sation among  his  friends  was  interesting  and  instructive,  and  his 
manners  among  strangers  bland  and  courteous. 

He  died  regretted  by  a  large  circle  of  friends,  and  in  his  death 
the  church  and  the  college  sustained  an  irreparable  loss. 


REV.    DR.    EDWIN    \\\    IIUTTER. 


The  following  sketch  of  Rev.  Dr.  Edwin  AV.  Hutter  is  copied, 
for  the  most  part,  from  the  oration  delivered  at  his  funeral  on 
September  27th,  1873,  by  Rev.  Dr.  Wedekind,  to  which  I  have 
appended  some  personal  recollections  of  my  own. 

Dr.  Hutter  was  born  at  Allentown,  Pa.,  September  12,  1813, 
and  was,  therefore,  at  his  death,  sixty  years  and  eight  days  old. 

He  received  his  education  in  the  village  school  and  the  print- 
er's office,  that  wonderful  college  from  which  some  of  the  most 
celebrated  men  of  our  country  have  graduated.  The  want  of  a 
liberal  college  education  w^as  in  a  measure  supplied  by  the  home 
training  under  the  supervision  of  his  father,  who  was  a  man  of 
more  than  ordinary  attainments,  and  possessing  a  prodigious 
amount  of  energy,  perseverance  and  application,  features  of  char- 
acter which  have  all  been  reproduced,  and  I  may  say  even  aug- 
mented by  the  subject  of  these  remarks.  Such  were  his  application, 
industry  and  perseverance,  that  at  the  death  of  his  father,  when 
he  was  but  seventeen  years  of  age,  he  became  the  editor  and  pro- 
prietor of  two  weekly  newspapers,  one  German  and  one  English, 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  195 

supplying  the  editorial  columns  of  both  with  his  prolific  pen,  and 
supervising  every  department  of  the  office  work  besides.  It  was 
here  where  he  attained  that  marvelous  facility  with  the  pen  that 
accompanied  him  through  his  whole  life.  Never  have  I  known 
his  equal  in  this  particular.  I  have  sat  beside  him  in  synods, 
amidst  the  most  exciting  debates,  when  he  reported  simultaneously 
for  three  different  papers.  And  these  reports  were  models  for 
fairness,  clearness  and  accuracy.  His  style  as  a  writer  was  ornate, 
leaning  a  little  to  redundancy.  His  productions  were  always 
fresh  and  juicy,  interspersed  with  historical  facts  and  allusions  of 
a  striking  character,  for  he  had  a  tncmory  that  was  marvelous  for 
its  capacity  and  retentiveness.  It  seemed  to  me  sometimes  that 
he  never  forgot  anything  that  he  had  seen,  heard  or  read.  And 
his  knowledge  was  not  like  a  lumber  yard  of  second-hand  lumber, 
a  chaas  of  confusion,  where  you  can  never  get  what  you  want 
without  a  world  of  trouble,  but  rather  like  an  apothecary  shop, 
where  everything  is  labeled  and  in  its  j^roper  place. 

By  reason  of  his  position  as  editor  he  became  acquainted  with 
many  of  the  politicians  and  statesmen  of  the  country,  who  as 
friends  cherished  him,  but  as  an  antagonist  dreaded  him.  For 
several  years  he  resided  at  Washington  as  private  secretary  of 
Mr.  Buchanan,  then  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States,  and 
such  was  the  estimate  formed  by  that  statesman  of  the  ability  and 
general  character  of  brother  H.,  that  when  subsequently  elected 
to  the  presidential  chair  an  embassy  to  a  foreign  court  was  ten- 
dered him.  But  God  had  meanwhile  clothed  him  with  an  office 
infinitely  above  anything  human.  He  had  become  an  ambassador 
to  the  King  of  glory,  and,  like  Nehemiah,  he  felt  that  he  had  a 
great  work  to  do,  and  would  not  come  down  to  serve  earthly  rulers. 
In  God's  providence  he  was  called  upon  to  follow  the  apple  of  his 
eye,  his  dear  boy,  to  an  early  grave,  amidst  the  saddest  cries.  But 
the  death  of  the  child  became  the  life  of  the  father.  For  whilst 
God  smote  him  with  his  right  arm,  he  emboldened  him  with  his 
left,  and  drew  him  but  the  closer  to  himself.  Over  the  marble- 
like corpse  of  little  James  he  covenanted  with  his  God  and  Father 
to  serve  him  thereafter  in  a  very  different  form  from  what  he  had 
done  before,  and,  under  the  guidance  of  the  Eev.  Dr.  Baker,  of 
Lancaster,  Pa.,  whom  he  afterward  loved  as  a  son  loves  a  father, 
his  thoughts  were  directed  to  the  Christian  ministry.  Long  and 
earnestly  did  he  pray  for  light  to  decide  that  momentous  question, 


196  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

and  wlien  that  light  came,  like  Paul's,  he  consulted  not  long  Avith 
flesh  and  blood,  but  jiromptly  bade  adieu  to  all  ]:)olitical  prospects 
and  preferments,  and  moved  to  Baltimore,  Md.,  where  he  studied 
theology  under  the  direction  of  the  late  Dr.  B.  Kurtz.  But,  as 
usual,  he  did  the  Avork  of  two  men  there,  applying  himself  ear- 
nestly to  the  study  of  theology,  and  discharging  also  the  duties 
of  the  office  editor  of  the  Observer.  In  due  time  he  took  charge 
of  St.  Matthew's  church,  the  only  congregation  he  served.  Here 
he  stood,  like  a  faithful  sentinel,  proclaiming  fearlessly  the  whole 
counsel  of  God  for  twenty  and  three  years,  and  many  are  the 
trophies  here  won  for  Christ,  many  the  jewels  here  polished  for  the 
Redeemer's  crown. 

The  personal  characteristics  of  our  friend  and  brother  may  be 
embraced  in  the  comj^rehensive  title,  "  A  Christian  Gentleman." 
He  was  firm  without  rudeness,  and  gentle  without  effeminacy. 
He  dealt  tenderly  with  the  erring,  and  was  "  patient  towards  all." 
None  could  ever  bring  the  charge  of  distance  or  coldness  against 
him.  His  was  a  genial  spirit.  In  the  social  circle  he  had  few 
equals  and  no  superiors.  He  was  brimful  of  good  nature,  and 
had  an  inexhaustible  flow  of  spirits  and  jjleasantries,  but  nowhere 
and  never  did  he  forget  his  character  as  a  minister.  He  was  fer- 
vent in  spirit,  and,  therefore,  intensely  practical  in  action.  By 
original  temperament  and  education  he  avoided  all  mere  specula- 
tion on  the  one  hand,  and  a  mere  striving  for  the  beautiful  on  the 
other,  and  sought  only  to  be  useful.  When  he  was  "  apprehended 
of  Christ,"  he  gave  himself  up  to  his  Lord  in  strong  confidence 
and  hope,  ever  realizing  that  there  was  an  Omnipotent  arm  lifted 
up  for  his  support  and  deliverance.  His  also  was  an  humble  spirit. 
From  his  soul  he  abhorred  pride  and  pedantry. 

Whenever  he  alluded  to  his  position  as  a  minister  he  did  so  in 
the  language  of  St.  Paul,  "As  being  the  least  of  all  apostles,  as 
one  born  out  of  due  time."  In  labors  he  was  most  abundant. 
Idleness  found  no  quarters  with  him.  Not  only  did  he  devote 
himself  with  the  whole  force  of  his  being  to  the  work  of  the 
ministry,  but  every  other  good  work,  in  which  he  could  honor 
his  Master  or  serve  his  race,  found  in  him  a  ready  supporter 
and  helper.  The  "  Northern  Home  for  Friendless  Children  "  is 
in  conjunction  with  his  energetic  wife,  in  a  great  measure  his 
monument — a  monument  more  eloquent  in  praise,  more  durable 
in  nature,  more  truthful  in   character,  than  any  marble  column 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  197 

that  may  mark  his  final  resting-place.  And  were  I  called  upon 
to  furnish  an  epitaph  for  his  tombstone,  I  would  inscribe  upon  it : 
"  Here  rests  the  friend  of  the  friendless." 

Dr.  Hutter  was  emphatically  a  Bible  student.  With  him  the 
Bible  was  the  one  great  book  of  study.  He  received  its 
truths  with  all  the  confidence  of  a  child,  and  bowed  before  it 
with  a  deep  and  holy  reverence.  Its  teachings  lav  in  his  soul 
like  a  well  of  pure,  deep  waters,  and  during  his  protracted  illness 
they  would  every  now  and  then  gush  up  with  unrivalled  beauty 
and  accuracy,  as  I  had  abundant  opportunity  of  witnessing  when, 
last  spring,  I  spent  a  day  and  night  with  him  in  his  sick  cham- 
ber. In  prayer,  especially,  he  brought  in  the  Scriptures  so  ap- 
propriately and  beautifully  that  it  often  seemed  to  me  like 
weaving  a  cloth  of  gold,  studded  all  over  with  brilliant  diamonds. 
His  sermons  were  very  unlike  many  we  hear  of  now-a-days,  which 
contain  almost  everything  except  the  simple  message  of  salva- 
tion to  man.  His  were  plain,  Scriptural,  doctrinal,  and  therefore 
practical.  Shielding  himself  behind  the  Cross,  he  ever  held  up 
the  Crucified  One  as  the  only  hope  and  help  for  a  ruined  world. 
From  this  pulpit  Christ  was  never  excluded,  but  He  formed  the 
sublime  theme  of  all  the  preacher's  discourses.  Having  himself 
experienced  His  saving  grace,  he  never  failed  to  recommend  Him 
as  the  refuge  of  the  sinner  and  the  hope  of  the  saint. 

ADDENDA. 

When  Mr.  Hutter  was  private  secretary  to  Mr.  Buchanan,  at 
that  time  Secretary  of  State  under  President  Polk  (1846),  I 
went  to  Washington  to  procure  a  passport  for  travel  in  Eurojoe. 
This  was,  of  course,  easily  got,  but  I  wanted  something  more, 
which  Mr.  Buchanan,  though  I  knew  him  well,  resolutely  refused 
to  give  me,  and  that  was  a  private  letter,  over  his  signature 
as  Secretary.  He  said  it  was  unusual  and  undiplomatic,  and  he 
would  not  do  it  for  his  own  brother,  who,  twenty  years  before, 
had  been  my  room-mate  at  Princeton  College.  I  told  my  difficulty 
to  Mr.  Hutter,  with  whom,  at  that  time,  I  did  not  expect  to  be  so 
intimately  associated  afterwards  as  a  brother  minister.  He  went 
to  Mr.  Buchanan  and  succeeded  in  getting  what  I  had  failed  to 
do,  I  was  afterwards  told  by  a  man  of  influence  that,  if  I  had 
belonged  to  the  "  right  school  of  politics,"  as  he  expressed  it,  there 
would  have  been  no  difficulty.  It  may  be  so. 
13 


198  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY. 

Mr.  Hutter  was  an  ardent  supporter  of  Mr.  Buchanan  in  his 
aspirations  to  the  Presidency  and  of  all  his  measures  until  the 
breaking  out  of  the  rebellion,  when  he  turned  against  him,  vio- 
lently and  openly  denounced  his  prevaricating,  and,  as  Hutter 
designated  it,  "  unpatriotic  "  course. 

When  he  came  to  Baltimore  to  aid  Dr.  Kurtz  in  editing  the 
Observer,  and  to  study  Theology,  he  became  a  member  of  my 
church,  and  a  lifelong  intimacy  sprang  up  between  my  family 
and  his.  He  had  lost  his  children,  and  needed  sympathy.  He 
and  his  wife  secured  the  esteem  of  everybody  who  knew  them. 
He  was  a  warm  admirer  of  Dr.  Kurtz,  and  generally  an  advocate 
of  his  measures.  He  delivered  a  glowing  eulogy  upon  him  at 
Selinsgrove,  and  I  happen  to  know  that  Dr.  K.  had  the  highest 
admiration  of  Mr.  H. 

St.  Matthew's,  in  Philadelphia,  was  the  only  church  he  ever 
served,  and  he  was  pastor  of  that  for  twenty-three  years.  He 
was  exceedingly  popular  among  his  people,  and  I  presume  no 
minister  of  our  church  ever  received  such  valuable  and  numerous 
presents  as  he  did,  in  testimony  of  their  admiration. 

He  was  a  frequent  contributor  to  the  Observer,  and  many  ser- 
mons on  special  occasions  were  printed  in  that  paper. 


REV.    T.    T.    TITUS. 

The  following  extract  is  from  an  obituary  notice  in  the  Observer, 
by  Eev.  J.  Swartz : 

From  the  journal  before  me  I  learn  that  Bro.  Titus  was  born  in 
Loudon  county,  Va.,  March  the  4th,  1829.  He  was  the  son  of 
poor  parents,  and  the  youngest  of  ten  children.  They  dedicated 
him  to  the  Lord  in  early  baptism,  and  endeavored  to  rear  him  in 
the  faith  of  the  gospel.  To  the  influence  of  his  mother  and  her 
prayers  in  his  behalf  he  traces,  under  God,  his  conversion  in 
youth  and  his  call  to  the  ministry.  He  manifested  an  eager  desire 
for  learning  when  Cjuite  young,  and,  though  living  in  a  country 
where  the  schools  were  poor  and  the  books  were  few,  he  managed 
to  read  a  great  deal,  and  acquired  sufficient  knowledge  to  become 
a  competent  teacher  when  about  sixteen  years  of  age,  to  which 
pursuit  he  devoted  several  years  of  his  early  life.     He  thus  had 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHEKAN    MINISTRY.  199 

opportunity,  in  some  degree,  to  gratify  liis  love  of  study  and  to 
procure  books,  which  he  read  with  great  avidity.  But  being  poor 
he  was  compelled  to  work  hard,  and  often  labored  with  slaves  in 
the  field,  doing  a  man's  work  long  before  he  attained  full  age  and 
strength  for  such  hard  labor. 

He  dates  his  conversion  from  January,  1847.  At  a  protracted- 
meeting,  held  by  Rev.  P.  Willard,  in  his  neighborhood,  he  was  led 
to  feel  himself  a  lost  sinner  and  to  cast  his  soul  upon  Christ,  in 
whom  he  found. peace  in  believing.  Not  long  after  he  united  with 
the  Lutheran  Church,  under  the  pastoral  care  of  the  favored  min- 
ister who  was  the  chosen  instrument  of  his  conversion.  After 
much  reflection  and  prayer  he  felt  constrained  to  enter  upon  a 
course  of  study  preparatory  to  the  ministry.  He  went  to  Get- 
tysburg in  the  fall  of  1848,  and  commenced  his  studies  in  the 
preparatory  department.  He  labored  hard  and  succeeded  well. 
He  speaks  of  the  great  kindness  of  the  professors  to  him,  espe- 
cially that  of  Prof.  Stoever,  and  of  the  assistance  afforded  him  by 
the  beneficiary  fund.  But  as  the  amount  allowed  him  was  alto- 
gether inadequate,  he  imposed  upon  himself  the  most  painful 
economy,  until,  at  last,  driven  by  sheer  necessity,  he  left  college 
for  a  season,  and  this  several  times  during  his  college  course,  either 
to  engage  in  teaching,  or  to  take  an  agency  to  sell  books,  until  he 
accumulated  a  little  money  to  prosecute  his  studies.  Thus,  with 
great  perseverance,  he  worked  along  until  he  was  graduated — 
receiving  the  honor  of  valedictorian — in  1853. 

The  next  year,  in  order  to  procure  means,  he  accepted  the  posi- 
tion of  tutor  in  the  preparatory  department,  and  studied  with  the 
class  in  the  seminary,  reciting  most  of  the  lessons  and  keeping  up 
with  the  class.  But  this  double  labor  was  too  much  for  him,  and 
soon  began  to  tell  seriously  upon  his  health.  He  became  pale  and 
emaciated  and  began  to  suffer  pain  in  his  chest.  He  was  com- 
pelled, after  three  full  terms,  to  abandon  his  position  as  tutor  and 
his  studies  in  the  seminary,  and  go  abroad  to  recover  his  health. 
Not  long  after  this  he  had  a  hemorrhage  from  his  lungs,  no  doubt- 
ful symptom  that  the  disease  so  fatal  in  his  family  had  laid  hold 
upon  him.  It  may  be  believed,  however,  that  whatever  predispo- 
sition he  had  to  take  this  disease,  it  was  immediately  induced  by 
too  much  confinement  and  too  much  labor.  Could  he  have  been 
relieved  of  his  double  task  and  permitted,  without  embarrassment 
and  harassing  anxiety  about  money,  to  pursue  his  studies  in  the 


200  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

seminary,  he  might  have  completed  his  course  with  honor,  as  he 
did  in  the  college,  and  escaped  the  early  development  of  a  disease 
which  cut  him  down  in  mid-life,  and  which  greatly  impaired  and 
too  early  arrested  his  usefulness. 

He  served  in  six  different  pastoral  fields,  Stoughstown,  Lower 
Merion,  Milton,  Springfield,  Ohio,  St.  John's  and  Trinity  in 
Hagerstown.  The  latter  was  organized  and  built  its  beautiful 
edifice  under  his  pastoral  care.  Preaching  here  until  health  and 
voice  failed  him,  he  reluctantly  quit  the  pastoral  work,  which  was 
ever  the  joy  and  delight  of  his  heart,  and  removed  to  Hartwick 
Seminary  in  June,  1871,  and  took  charge  of  that  institution,  which 
flourished  under  his  care. 

Here  he  labored  Avith  the  zeal  and  energy  that  characterized 
him  every  where,  until  at  last  he  grew  so  weak,  and  his  voice  so 
failed  him,  that  he  could  not  speak  above  a  whisper.  But  even  in 
this  condition  he  continued  occasionally  to  teach,  until  the  last 
holiday  vacation  relieved  him,  when  every  whisper  cost  him  pain, 
soreness  of  the  throat  and  exhaustion,  and  only  when  his  voice 
wholly  failed  him  did  he  cease  to  labor.  Then  he  pathetically 
writes,  among  the  last  things  in  his  journal,  "And  now  I  am 
voiceless — cannot  utter  a  loud  sound — can  praise  God  with  my 
lips  aloud  never  more  ;  nor  speak  for  him  who  bought  me,  in 
puljlic.     But  it  is  all  perfectly  right,  for  the  Lord  did  it." 

For  several  years  Bro.  Titus  had  been  anticipating  the  conclu- 
sion to  which  he  felt  himself  to  be  rapidly  hastening.  Though  death 
came  to  him  early,  it  did  not  come  unexpected  nor  unAvelcome.  On 
the  3d  of  January,  1871,  he  says :  "  This  year  may  be  my  last.  If 
it  should  be,  and  if  I  should  die  ere  its  close,  may  my  family  and 
all  who  read  these  lines,  while  the  hand  that  is  penning  them  is 
turning  to  dust,  be  assured  that  I  died  in  the  full  confidence  of 
eternal  life  through  Jesus  Christ  my  Lord.  I  am  a  poor,  worthless 
sinner,  yet,  through  grace,  I  hoj)e  to  sing  with  angels.  I  die  be- 
lieving in  the  gospel  with  all  its  precious  truths.  I  love  my 
church  *  *  *  I  love  all  who  love  Jesus.  Yea,  I  love  those 
who  love  him  not,  and  would  gladly  pluck  them  as  brands  from 
the  burning.  *  *  *  j  ^sk  all  my  friends  and  enemies  to  for- 
give me  my  faults  and  sins,  as  I  forgive  them,  and  as  I  pray  God 
to  forgive  them  and  me.  My  hope  is  in  Jesus,  Jesus  only,  Jesua 
only  ;  I  have  no  other  hope  or  trust.  '. 

*  In  my  hand  no  price  I  bring. 
Simply  to  thy  cross  I  cling.' 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  201 

This  ^Yill  be  my  dying  motto,  and  this  I  desire  inscribed  OJi  my 
tomb." 

He  sjieaks,  too,  of  doubt  and  despondency  which  sometimes 
seem  to  brood  heavily  on  his  mind,  but  as  death  comes  visibly 
nearer,  he  says  :  "  My  faith  seems  to  rise  with  the  occasion.  I  do 
not  fear  death.  I  can  look  forward,  confidently  believing  that  as 
my  day,  so  my  strength  shall  be.  This  promise  is  verified  to  me 
now.  '  I  know  in  whom  I  have  believed,  and  he  never  leaves  nor 
forsakes  his  people  in  the  trying  hour.'  " 

A  dear  friend  and  brother  who  attended  his  dying  couch  says  : 
"  Mr.  Titus  died  in  the  triumph  of  faith.  His  decline  was  rapid, 
and  his  end  peaceful.  He  talked  of  his  departure  as  we  would 
speak  of  making  a  journey.  There  was  no  uncertainty  ebout  the 
future.  "  All  is  bright,"  said  he  a  few^  days  before  the  end.  "  All 
is  bright,  there  is  not  a  cloud."  Two  hours  before  he  died,  taking 
the  hand  of  the  writer,  he  uttered  these  last  words  :  "  I  am  going 
through  the  dark  valley."  So  we  closed  his  eyes  in  death,  fully 
assured  that  while  we  are  one  less,  heaven  has  one  more." 

As  a  writer,  Mr.  Titus  was  favorably  known.  His  contributions 
to  the  Lutheran  Observer  have  been  widely  read.  He  has  given 
to  the  church  two  very  important  relics  of  his  usefulness,  in  the 
"  Explanatory  Question-Book"  for  Sunday-schools,  the  second  vol- 
ume of  which  has  just  been  issued  from  the  press. 

As  a  preacher,  he  was  instructive,  earnest  and  impressive.  He 
dlways  sought  to  prepare  his  sermons  with  great  care,  and  came 
to  the  pulpit  with  an  evident  impression  of  the  seriousness  and 
solemnity  of  his  work  upon  his  mind  and  heart.  He  spoke  ten- 
derly and  lovingly,  but  boldly  and  fearlessly  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord  Jesus.  He  was  a  man  of  deep  convictions  and  inflexible 
loyalty  to  what  he  believed  the  truth.  His  candor  sometimes 
offended,  and  his  pertinacity  in  argument,  rather  than  to  make 
easy  concession  for  the  sake  of  j^eace,  sometimes  worried  his 
brethren,  especially  in  deliberative  assemblies,  but  he  always 
showed  clear  discernment,  sound  judgment,  and  made  upon  all 
unprejudiced  minds  the  impression  that  it  was  from  a  sense  of 
duty  and  a  love  of  truth,  and  not  a  desire  of  debate,  that  he 
contended  earnestly. 

He  was  very  active  in  the  temperance  reform.  As  a  teacher 
he  was  clear,  patient  and  earnest,  and  accomplished,  under  the 
circumstances,  what  seemed  scarcely  possible  for  one  so  infirm  in 
health. 


202  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

REV.    DR.    T.    STORK. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  a  discourse  delivered  at  the 
funeral  of  Dr.  Stork  in  Philadelphia,  April  10,  1874,  by  Eev.  Dr. 
Baum  : 

For  us  who  survive  there  is  sorrow  indeed.  We  mourn  the  de- 
parture of  an  able  and  faithful  minister  of  Christ,  of  a  skillful  and 
accepted  writer  of  Christian  truth  and  morals,  of  a  judicious  and 
trusted  counselor  in  the  work  of  the  church,  and  of  a  loving  and 
sympathizing  friend  and  brother.  To  his  brethren  in  the  ministry 
the  death  of  Dr.  Stork  will  be  long  and.  sorely  felt.  Kind  and 
aifable  toward  all,  he  enjoyed  to  an  unusual  extent  the  confidence 
and  affection  of  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  His  gentle 
spirit  and  earnest  Christian  character  won  for  him  a  high  place  in 
the  esteem  of  the  laity  of  the  church.  Always  a  favorite  in  the 
pulpit — for  he  was  born  to  preach  the  gospel — he  was  no  less  pop- 
ular in  synod,  in  society,  and  in  the  family.  The  charming  sweet- 
ness of  his  spirit,  baptized  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  made  him  an  ever 
clear  and  cherished  companion  and  friend.  Not  the  least  of  the 
pleasant  anticipations  of  my  removal  to  this  city  was  the  expec- 
tation of  frequent  and  intimate  association  with  him.  His  death 
is  to  me  a  personal  aifiiction  that  Avill  be  long  and  sorely  felt.  And 
if  thus  to  us,  whose  relationship  is  only  that  of  friendship  and 
associated  labor,  his  death  is  so  sad  and  grievous  an  event,  how 
much  more  to  those  who  stood  connected  with  him  in  all  the  inti- 
macies and  endearments  of  the  family  and  home.  Empty  and 
drear  will  that  home  be  from  which  its  head  and  ornament  is  thus 
taken.  Of  the  strength  and  sincerity  of  the  affection  which  was 
so  worthily  bestowed  upon  him,  and  as  warmly  returned,  we  need 
not  here  speak,  except  to  offer  sincerest  sympathy  and  condolence 
to  those  who  mourn  his  removal.  It  is  the  Lord  ;  let  him  do  what 
seemeth  him  good.  There  is  left  a  remembrance  that  will  sweeten 
even  though  it  saddens  every  hour  of  life.  His  life  was  nobly 
and  successfully  given  to  the  work  of  the  Lord,  and  his  end  was 
peace. 

As  to  its  external  facts  and  changes  Dr.  Stork's  life  may  be  eas- 
ily told.  Eternity  alone  can  unfold  the  full  extent  of  the  work 
he  did.  The  most  useful  and  influential  life  is  not  always  marked 
by  the  greatest  changes  or  crowded  with  the  most  exciting  inci- 
dents.    Born  in  North  Carolina,  where  his  father  preached  the 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE   LUTIIERAN    MINISTRY.  203 

gospel  with  marked  and  blessed  results,  lie  was  early  brongLt  to 
Christ,  and  became  at  once  an  open  and  pronounced  Christian. 
His  education  was  secured  in  the  institutions  of  the  church  at 
Gettysburg,  in  which  he  took  advanced  grade,  and  where  his  mem- 
ory is  still  fondly  cherished.  Entering  the  ministry  about  the 
year  1837,  his  first  labors  were  given  to  Winchester,  Va.  Of  the 
character  and  results  of  his  first  ministry  I  feel  authorized  to 
speak  with  confidence,  as  it  was  my  good  fortune,  in  after  years, 
to  occupy  the  same  pulpit.  Even  to  this  day  he  is  there  remem- 
bered with  undiminished  confidence  and  affection,  and  his  efforts 
spoken  of  in  tei-ms  of  highest  praise.  For  long  years  his  friends 
of  that  congregation  maintained,  frequent  communication  with 
him,  and  consulted  him  freely  upon  questions  of  mutual  interest. 

During  his  ministry  in  that  place  the  present  church  edifice  was 
projected,  and  many  of  the  most  active  and  most  zealous  members 
of  the  congregation,  Avho  have  ever  since  adorned  the  doctrine  of 
God  their  Saviour  in  all  things,  were  brought  into  the  church. 
From  Winchester  he  came  to  Philadelphia  as  pastor  of  St.  Mat- 
thew's, and  thus,  for  the  second  time,  I  have  become  his  successor, 
entering  into  his  labors.  In  this  city  his  public  ministerial  life  is 
known  and  read  of  all  men.  He  was  faithful  in  all  things,  and 
successful,  in  more  than  ordinary  degree,  in  leading  sinners  to  the 
Saviour.  The  additions  to  the  membership,  and  the  strong,  un- 
dying attachments  of  those  received,  give  full  and  satisfactory 
evidence  of  his  power  over  men  and  of  his  fidelity  to  Christ. 
"  The  memory  of  the  just  is  blessed,"  and  we  listen  to-day,  with 
a  sad  and  chastened  interest,  to  the  unstinted  praises  and  strong 
utterances  of  undying  attachment  from  many  sorrowing  hearts  of 
those  who,  in  long  years  past,  called  Dr.  Stork  their  pastor,  and 
received  the  word  of  the  Lord  from  his. lips.  "He  being  dead 
yet  speaketh"  in  the  words  and  works  of  a  large  and  loving  spir- 
itual family. 

Realizing  then  already  the  need  of  enlarged  and  advanced 
church  accommodations.  Dr.  Stork  proposed  the  enterprise  of  a 
new  congregation  in  the  rapidly  increasing  north-west  section  of 
the  city.  Leading  the  movement  in  person,  he  succeeded  beyond 
expectation  in  building  St.  Mark's  church,  and  establishing  upon 
a  firm  basis  St.  Mark's  congregation.  As  in  each  field  of  labor, 
so  in  this;  his  works  do  follow  him.  In  all  that  St.  Mark's  has 
been  and  may  yet  become,  the  merit  of  its  founding,  as  Avell  as 


204  FIFTY    YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

the  wisdom  of  its  timely  inception,  will  be  given  to  Di*.  Stork.  In 
this,  as  in  all  his  movements,  he  showed  genuine  progressive  cour- 
age and  unfaltering  childlike  faith.  He  had  faith  in  God  and  in 
God's  word.  He  saw  there  was  need  and  the  ability  to  supply 
that  need,  and  he  unhesitatingly  assumed  the  responsibility  of 
guiding  and  consummating  the  movement ;  and,  by  God"s  grace 
and  man's  help,  he  succeeded.  Let  his  success  inspire  many  sim- 
ilar movements  in  this  and  in  all  the  cities  of  our  land,  until  all 
who  need  are  supplied  as  advantageously  as  are  those  who  followed 
him  so  readily  in  founding  that  now  monument  to  his  memory. 

From  the  pulpit  of  St.  Mark's  Dr.  Stork  was  called  to  the  pres- 
idency of  Newberry  College,  S.  C.  To  this  new  field  of  labor  he 
gave  his  maturest  efforts,  and  very  soon  gave  promise  of  being  as 
acceptable  as  a  teacher  as  he  had  been  as  a  preacher.  The  hope 
of  improving  his  impaired  health  exercised  no  little  influence  in 
deciding  the  question  of  his  change  of  occupation  and  location. 
The  milder  winters  of  the  South  and  the  change  of  surroundings 
it  was  hoped  would  affect  him  beneficially.  Not  without  hesita- 
tion, yet  with  much  characteristic  enthusiasm,  he  entered  this 
new  and  untried  work,  hoping,  if  possible,  in  wider  sphere,  by 
educating  the  future  educators  of  the  church,  to  serve  the  cause 
he  loved  so  well.  But,  ere  he  could  become  fairly  engaged  and 
interested,  and  his  aptness  or  success  become  apparent,  the  dis- 
turbed condition  of  the  country  so  far  interfered  with  the  conduct 
of  the  institution,  and  the  prospect  of  an  early  adjustment  of  our 
civil  difficulties  was  so  unsatisfactory,  that  Dr.  Stork  very  soon 
resigned  and  retired  from  the  college,  and  once  more  held  himself 
in  readiness  to  serve  his  day  and  generation  in  the  pastoral  ofiice. 

Nor  did  he  long  wait  for  an  engagement.  St.  Mark's,  Balti- 
more, thankfully  seized  the  opportunity,  and  urged  his  accej^tance 
of  their  call  to  become  pastor  of  their  newly  organized  congrega- 
tion. To  this  he  readily  acceded,  and  at  once  became  a  favorite 
within  and  without  his  charge.  Under  his  faithful  and  affection- 
ate care,  St.  Mark's,  Baltimore,  grew  in  every  element  of  congre- 
gational strength,  and  now,  under  the  charge  of  his  son,  is  one  of 
the  most  active  and  liberal  congregations  of  our  church. 

Serving  this  people  until  his  own  son  was  prejDared  to  assume 
charge  thereof.  Dr.  Stork  once  more  returned  to  this  city,  so  dear 
to  him  by  the  most  cherished  associations.  He  was  welcomed 
anew  by  hosts  of  devoted  friends,  who  rejoiced  in  the  prospect  of 
long  continued  association  with  him. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  205 

Nor  was  he  long  disengaged.  In  this  immediate  locality  he  saw 
the  need  of  a  church,  and  began  the  unpromising  work  of  estab- 
lishing it.  Circumstances  interfered  with  the  consummation  of 
his  original  purpose,  and  the  gradual  failure  of  his  health,  atten- 
ded at  times  with  alarming  symptoms,  compelled  a  new  line  of 
engagements  and  a  change  of  labor. 

Gifted  as  a  ready,  ornate  and  acceptable  writer,  with  strong 
literary  tastes  and  long  culture,  he  prepared  his  own  productions 
for  the  press,  all  of  which  have  met  with  a  flattering  reception, 
and  served  with  untiring  interest  in  the  work  of  the  Publication 
Society  of  our  church.  No  one  unacquainted  with  the  difficulties 
and  drudgery  of  that  branch  of  church  enterj^rise  can  form  a  just 
estimate  of  the  unrequited  service  Dr.  Stork  rendered  our  Zion. 
Upon  this  his  last  days  were  engaged  ;  his  last  hours  were  given 
to  it.  His  last  issue  of  the  Lutheran  Home  MontJdy,  appearing 
about  the  same  day  with  his  death,  contains  his  last  literary  labor, 
and,  by  a  most  singular  and  touchingly  interesting  coincidence, 
its  leading  editorial  has  this  striking  title,  "/  am  now  ready'' 
The  article  which  follows  breathes  the  spirit  and  has  all  the  pecu- 
liarities of  thought  and  style  of  its  loved  and  now  lamented 
author.  He  could  not  have  written  anything  more  appropriate 
for  the  occasion,  nor  can  any  one  select  a  more  fitting  ejDitaph — 
"7" am  now  ready."  Every  line  of  that  now  sacred  article  might 
with  eminent  propriety  be  quoted  here.  Nothing  better  could  be 
spoken. 

The  grace  which  enabled  the  aged  imprisoned  apostle  to  exclaim 
in  triumph  "larn  now  ready"  was  not  withheld  from  him  whose 
death  we  mourn.  With  fullest  confidence  we  know  he  could  say, 
as  he  did  say,  "I am  now  ready."  His  time  had  come.  His  tri- 
umph through  him  who  conquers  for  us  was  assured.  In  hope  of 
a  blessed  immortality,  he  sleeps  in  Jesus.  In  his  own  words, 
"  Who  can  look  at  the  end  of  such  a  noble  Christian  life  without 
some  quickening  of  the  soul,  some  kindling  aspiration  to  be  like 
Paul  in  our  devotion  to  Christ — like  him,  in  that  calm  peaceful 
a.ssurancc  expressed  in  those  j)arting  and  immortal  words,  'I am 
now  ready.'  " 

We  believe  he  was  ready,  awaiting  Christ's  coming.  He  was 
an  humble  Christian,  that  highest  style  of  man,  called,  redeemed, 
pardoned  and  accepted  in  Jesus  Christ. 

He  was  a  faithful  Christian  minister,  devoted  to  his  calling  and 
"steadfast  in  the  faith."     He  was  an  exemplary  servant  of  Jesus 


206  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Christ,  doing  his  Master's  will  with  all  alacrity,  and  seeking  ever 
to  advance  his  Master's  interests. 

Thus  did  he  live  and  labor,  and,  in  dying,  could,  with  all  meek- 
ness, say,  "  I  am  now  ready  to  be  offered,  and  the  time  of  my 
departure  is  at  hand." 


REV.    GEORGE   A.    LINTNER,    D.  D. 

The  following  interesting  biographical  sketch  of  Dr.  Lintner, 
by  Rev.  Edmund  Belfour,  we  transfer  from  the  Lutheran  and 
Missionary  : 

Dr.  Lintner  was  born  at  Minden,  Montgomery  county,  N.  Y., 
February  15,  1796,  and  spent  his  early  childhood  at  the  old  home- 
stead, which  had  long  been  in  possession  of  the  family,  and  which 
it  was  designed  that  he  should  own  and  occupy  after  the  decease 
of  his  father.  At  the  age  of  ten  years  he  was  sent  to  Coopers- 
town  to  attend  school,  and  at  that  time  understood  not  one  word 
of  the  English  language,  the  German  being  exclusively  used  in 
his  father's  family.  He  very  soon  manifested  both  inclination  and 
cai^acity  for  study,  and  an  earnest  desire  sprang  up  in  his  heart 
to  qualify  himself  for  the  ministry.  His  father,  though  a  very 
pious  man,  found  it  difSeult  to  give  up  the  cherished  thought  of 
having  his  only  son  succeed  him  on  the  farm.  But  his  noble 
mother  favored  the  praiseworthy  ambition  of  the  lad,  and  all  ac- 
quiesced in  the  new  purpose.  He  was  at  an  early  age  admitted 
into  Union  College,  Schenectady,  N,  Y.,  and  there  pursued  the 
full  course.  After  his  graduation  he  entered  upon  the  study  of 
Theology,  under  the  direction  and  guidance  of  his  pastor.  Rev. 
Mr.  Domeier,  a  well-educated  clergyman,  and  was  licensed  by 
the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Ministerium  of  New  York,  in  Septem- 
ber, 1818. 

In  January,  1819,  he  accepted  a  call  to  the  pastorate  of  the 
Lutheran  Churches  of  Schoharie  and  Cobleskill,  Schoharie  county, 
N.  Y.,  and  was  ordained  and  installed  June  16  of  the  same  year. 
He  entered  upon  his  work  with  all  the  zeal  of  an  earnest  and 
pious  young  man,  and  was  heartily  sustained  by  his  people,  and 
especially  by  his  church  councils,  of  whom  he  spoke  in  terms  of 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  207 

admiration  to  the  close  of  his  life,  as  men  of  sterling  worth  and 
piety. 

Among  these  were  Judges  Hermanns,  Bouck,  and  Wm.  C  Bouck, 
for  a  time  Governor  of  the  State.  And,  we  need  hardly  add,  he 
was  eminently  successful  as  a  pastor,  and  his  influence  was  very 
decided  over  the  churches  and  ministers  of  a  large  district  of 
country. 

He  was  the  recognized  leader  of  the  young  men  of  his  Synod, 
including  Revs.  Frederick  SchaefFer  and  H.  N.  Pohlman,  in  their 
manly  opposition  to  what  he  was  wont  to  call  the  "  Quitman  Dy- 
nasty "  of  rationalism.  But  after  a  time  he  and  others  became 
so  much  dissatisfied  with  the  character  of  the  old  Synod  (which 
is  now  so  thoroughly  orthodox)  that  he  initiated  measures  for  the 
organization  of  a  new  Synod.  A  convention  of  all  desiring  to 
enter  such  an  organization  was  called  to  meet  in  the  church  in 
Schoharie,  in  1830.  The  convention  met,  and  the  result  was  the 
formation  of  the  "  Hartwick  Synod,"  of  which  he  was  chosen  the 
first  president,  an  office  which  he  often  held  and  graced  in  after 
years. 

In  1837  certain  members  of  this  Synod,  who  had  become  impa- 
tient of  doctrinal  and  constitutional  restraint,  withdrew  and 
formed  the  Franckean  Synod,  on  the  widest  latitudinarian  basis. 
The  movement  W'as  thoroughly  revolutionary,  and  led  to  the  most 
vigorous  controversies,  and  even  to  contests  in  the  courts.  In 
those  stirring  and  exciting  times.  Dr.  Lintner  was  the  leading 
spirit  in  the  Hartw^ick  Synod,  and  courageously  and  successfully 
defended  himself  and  his  associates,  and  for  this  received  much 
rough  treatment. 

But  even  these  distracted  scenes,  in  which  he  was  the  most 
prominent  actor,  did  not  draw  his  attention  away  from  his  pas- 
toral work.  His  parish  grew  very  rapidly,  and  new  congregations 
were  formed  from  time  to  time.  He  retained  unimpaired  the  con- 
fidence and  respect  of  his  people  and  of  the  surrounding  commu- 
nity as  the  years  rolled  by.  He  remained  pastor  of  the  church 
in  Schoharie  until  1849 — thirty  years.  From  the  time  of  his 
resignation  he  was  engaged  in  promoting  the  work  of  foreign 
missions  and  of  the  American  Bible  Society,  and  of  any  good 
cause  which  afforded  him  an  opportunity  to  do  something  for  his 
Master. 

He  was  editor  of  the  Lutheran  Magazine  from  1827  to   1831, 


208  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

and  contributed  to  various  religious  publications.  And  in  Lis 
writings,  sermons,  and  addresses,  he  was  especially  earnest,  and 
almost  bitter  in  his  opposition  to  the  use  of  all  intoxicating  liquors 
and  wines ;  and  we  honor  him  for  it. 

Dr.  Lintner  had  very  clear  perceptions  and  positive  views  of 
Christian  doctrine.  He  was  an  earnest  and  enthusiastic  admirer 
and  advocate  of  the  Augsburg  Confession,  and  often  stood  side  by 
side  with  the  writer  in  defense  of  that  great  document  where  it 
was  ruthlessly  attacked.  And  his  orthodoxy  produced  its  legiti- 
mate effect — an  earnest  spiritual  life. 

He  was  a  man  of  a  strong  and  determined  character.  As  his 
convictions  were  very  positive,  his  resolution  was  firm.  He  sel- 
dom relinquished  any  purpose,  but  clung  to  it  most  tenaciously 
until  it  was  accomplished,  when  that  was  possible.  And,  as  may 
readily  be  inferred,  he  was  a  firm  and  constant  friend  and  a  most 
resolute  opponent. 

He  was  a  gentleman  of  the  old  school — j^o^^^e  and  affable  in  all 
the  relations  of  life,  dignified  in  his  bearing,  and  chaste  in  his 
language.  He  was  especially  courteous  to  men  holding  official 
position,  and,  above  all,  to  those  of  his  own  jprofession. 

The  writer  knew  him  most  intimately  for  many  years,  and  for 
a  long  time  was  his  pastor.  And  though  a  mere  lad  when  he 
assumed  that  relation  to  this  venerable  minister,  the  latter  uni- 
formly treated  him  with  the  respect  due  to  his  office,  and  with 
fraternal  cordiality.  He  was  so  tenacious  of  official  honor  and 
rights  that  he  never  volunteered  advice  to  his  young  pastor, 
though  always  ready  to  give  it  when  solicited.  We  can  never 
forget  the  many  hours  which  we  spent  with  the  deceased  in  our 
respective  homes,  and  in  our  long  rides  on  ministerial  business, 
in  which  we  were  inseparable.  His  commanding  personal  ap- 
pearance, his  white  hair,  his  courtly  manner,  his  cheerful  temper, 
and  his  readiness  in  conversation,  all  tended  to  make  him  an 
agreeable  and  valuable  associate.  And  with  perfect  sincerity, 
and  with  deep  and  tender  feelings,  we  here  record  our  testimony 
to  the  distinguished  ability  and  attainments  and  the  noble  char- 
acter of  our  venerable  and  cherished  friend,  and  can  hardly  keep 
back  the  struggling  tear  when  we  reflect  on  the  painful  fact  that 
we  shall  see  him  no  more  in  the  flesh.  But  in  God's  own  time  the 
righteous  shall  meet  again.  May  this  thought  inspire  those  of 
us  who  remain  to  strive  more  earnestly  than  ever  for  meetness  for 
Heaven. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IX    TflE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  209 

The  following  sketch  of  the  late  Dr.  Lintner  is  from  the  Scho- 
harie Republican  of  December  28th  : 

The  funeral  of  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Lintner,  who  died  at  his  resi- 
dence on  the  21st  instant,  in  the  76th  year  of  his  age,  was  largely- 
attended  on  Sabbath  afternoon  last,  at  St.  Paul's  Lutheran  Church, 
Schoharie  C.  H.  The  church  had  been  beautifully  decorated  for 
the  Christmas  festival.  The  pulpit  and  altar  were  draped  in 
niDurning.  A  large  number  of  the  clergy  were  present  and  assisted 
in  the  solemn  services.  The  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Heck.  It  was  an  eloquent  and  pecxiliarly  appropriate  dis- 
course. The  Rev.  Dr.  Scholl,  a  lifelong  friend  of  the  deceased, 
made  a  touching  and  beautiful  address  upon  the  Christian  virtues, 
scholarly  attainments  and  successful  ministry  of  the  departed 
Father  in  Israel,  Rev.  Mr.  Swope  closed  with  a  few  remarks 
commemorative  of  the  life  and  character  of  him  who,  for  nearly 
sixty  years,  had  preached  the  Gos2:)el  of  Christ.  The  Rev.  Messrs. 
Roe,  Jones,  Moot,  Swope,  Vedder,  Scribner,  Lefler,  and  Porter, 
assisted  by  the  venerable  Mr.  Osterhout,  Sen.,  and  others,  acted  as 
pall-bearers,  and  at  twilight,  Christmas  Eve,  the  body  of  "the 
good  man  "  was  borne  from  the  church  in  which  he  had  preached 
Christ  and  Him  crucified  for  over  fifty  years,  to  the  beautiful 
cemetery  on  the  hillside,  and  there,  during  the  singing  of  a  hvmn 
by  the  throng  of  clergymen,  laid  in  the  grave,  in  the  midst  of 
those  who  had  gone  before  him,  and  to  whom  he  had  been  a  faith- 
ful pastor  and  beloved  friend.  He  waits  the  resurrection  morn- 
ing, and  when  the  earth  shall  give  up  its  dead,  this  minister  of 
God  shall  rise  in  his  glorified*  body,  "  bringing  his  sheaves  with 
him." 

George  Ames  Lintner  was  born  in  Minden,  Montgomery  county, 
N.  Y.,  February  15,  1796.  His  parents  were  Albert  and  Elizabeth 
(Westerman)  Lintner,  both  of  whom  were  of  German  descent,  and 
among  the  earliest  settlers  near  the  Mohawk  river.  At  ten  years 
of  age  George  was  sent  to  a  school  near  the  village  of  Coopers- 
town,  and  after  his  return  home,  in  about  a  year,  he  remained  in 
his  father's  family,  working  on  the  farm,  until  the  fall  of  1813. 
He  was  then  placed  in  the  Grammar  school  at  Schenectady,  under 
the  tuition  of  the  Rev.  John  S.  Mabon,  where  he  remained  until 
the  fall  of  1815,  when  he  entered  the  sophomore  class  in  Union 
College,  and  graduated  in  July,  1817.  While  in  college  he  took 
tigh  rank,  and  had  one  of  the  highest  honors  upon  commencement 


210  FIFTY   YEAES    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

day.  While  in  college  he  also  took  lessons  in  Theology  from  Eev. 
Peter  Domeier,  so  that,  in  August  of  1817,  he  preached  his  first 
sermon  at  Palatine.  He  continued  his  studies  with  the  same  di- 
vine until  September,  1818,  when  he  was  licensed  to  preach  by 
the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Ministerium  of  the  State  of  New  York. 
After  he  was  licensed,  he  preached  occasionally  in  the  village  of 
Little  Falls  and  other  places.  In  January,  1819,  he  was  called  to 
the  pastoral  charge  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Churches  of 
Schoharie  and  Cobleskill.  On  the  3d  of  March,  1819,  he  was 
married  to  Maria  Waggoner  ;  removed  to  Schoharie  in  May,  1819, 
and  was  ordained  and  installed  as  pastor  of  the  Evangelical  Lu- 
theran Churches  to  which  he  had  been  called  by  a  special  meeting 
of  the  New  York  Ministerium,  his  ordination  and  installation 
taking  place  June  16,  1819.  And  then  commenced  a  long  and 
pros^^erous  pastorate. 

The  Dietzs,  the  Lawyers,  the  Boucks,  the  Vromans,  the  Shafers, 
the  Manns,  the  Posts,  the  Hallenbecks,  the  Sternbergs,  and  other 
families  who  then  belonged  to  the  Lutheran  Church,  received  the 
young  minister  with  great  cordiality,  and  over  thirty  years  he 
had  an  influence  in  this  community  and  the  surrounding  country 
few  men  have  ever  possessed.  His  wife  died  October  28,  1830, 
leaving  him  two  children,  a  son  and  daughter.  Her  memory  is 
still  precious  to  those  who  knew  her.  He  was  married  again  May 
30,  1832,  to  Mary  Elizabeth  Campbell.  He  received  the  degree 
of  "Doctor  of  Divinity"  from  Pennsylvania  College,  September 
17,  1835.  He  also  edited  the  Lutheran  Magazine,  a  religious 
monthly,  from  1827  to  1831.  He  was  President  of  the  General 
Synod  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  the  United  States  in  1841  and 
1843.  May  1,  1849,  he  resigned  the  pastorate  of  the  church  at 
Schoharie. 

He  prepared  the  Liturgy  of  the  Evangelical  Ltitheran  Church 
of  this  country,  which  was  published  by  order  of  the  General 
Synod  in  1832.  He  also  published  several  sermons  in  the  Na- 
tional Preacher  and  other  publications.  In  1853  he  published  the 
memoirs  of  Eev.  Walter  Gunn,  the  first  foreign  missionary  sent 
out  by  the  Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  the  Lutheran  Church 
in  the  United  States.  Mr.  Gunn  was  a  member  of  Dr.  Lintner's 
church,  and  one  of  the  fruits  of  his  ministry.  During  his  minis- 
try at  Schoharie  he  organized  three  new  churches  as  the  results 
of  his  work,  one  at  Breakabeen,  one  at  Middleburgh,  and  one  at 
Centi'al  Bridge.     In  1837  he  was  chosen  President  of  the  Scho- 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  211 

harie  County  Bible  Society,  and  held  the  position  until  liis  death. 
He  was  the  first  President  of  the  Hartwick  Synod,  and  often  af- 
ter he  was  called  to  preside  over  the  deliberations  of  the  Synod. 
After  he  had  resigned,  in  1849,  his  pastorate,  he  was  called  to 
work  in  his  church  for  the  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  and  for 
three  years  he  was  engaged  in  visiting  the  Lutheran  churches  in 
New  York  and  New  Jersey,  and  presenting  the  claims  of  the 
society,  and  collecting  funds  to  aid  in  its  operations. 

In  this  work  he  took  great  delight,  and  was  successful  in  awa- 
kening an  increased  missionary  spirit  in  the  churches  which  he 
visited.  He  also  preached  to  the  Germans,  at  their  different  set- 
tlements in  this  region,  in  their  own  language.  He  loved  the 
work  of  his  Lord  and  Master.  He  never  laid  aside  the  harness 
till,  on  the  second  of  January  last,  he  was  j^aralyzed. 

The  reflection  that  he  had  faithfully  endeavored  to  serve  his 
Master  afforded  him  great  satisfaction  in  his  last  days. 


FREDERICK    HEYER 

was,  in  my  opinion,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  the  period 
under  consideration.  Until  his  fiftieth  year,  he  was  a  laborious 
pastor  in  several  fields  and  then  came  to  Baltimore  on  his  own 
account  to  found  a  German  mission.  He  is  the  father  of  St.  John's 
Church,  Biddle  street.  He  had  hard  work  but  accomplished  his 
purpose.  He  supported  himself  chiefly  and  advanced  money  from 
his  own  purse  to  uphold  the  cause. 

He  was  the  first  missionary  sent  to  India  by  the  General  Synod's 
Missionary  Society.  There  was  some  plan  proposed  by  which  our 
missionary  was  to  be  in  some  way  under  the  control  of  the  Amer- 
ican Board  at  Boston,*  but  he  resolutely  refused  to  go  under  such 
conditions.  He  was  fifty  years  of  age  and  we  were  advised  by 
the  Boston  Board  to  send  no  man  to  India  at  that  age.  I  voted 
against  the  measure,  but  w'as  happily  disappointed,  for  he  lived 
in  India  in  good  health  for  16  or  17  years,  having  returned  twice 
to  this  country  to  recuperate  and  to  rouse  the  churches  to  their 
duties  in  this  enterprise. 

*See  General  SjtqocI  of  1841. 


212  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

On  liis  final  return  he  settled  quietly  down  in  Somerset,  Pa., 
until  called  to  the  position  of  House  Father  in  the  Theological 
Seminary  in  Philadeijihia,  where  he  died  in  1875. 

He  was  at  home  in  my  family  during  his  frequent  visits  to  Bal- 
timore and  he  never  forgot  a  childish  remark  made  by  one  of  the 
little  ones  at  the  table  thirty  years  before  he  died.  The  child 
asked  in  her  simplicity  who  this  stranger  was,  and  upon  being 
told  it  was  Bro.  Heyer,  she  exclaimed,  "  Isn't  he  pretty  s'"  Every 
body  who  knew  him,  is  aware  that  only  a  child  could  form  that 
judgment  of  him,  but  he  enjoyed  it  exceedingly  and  often  spoke 
of  it  to  that  same  person  after  she  had  grown  to  womanhood. 

Mr.  Heyer  was  physically  vigorous,  though  small  of  stature  and 
lathe  like  in  form.  He  endured  the  enervating  climate  of  India 
without  damaging  discomfort  and  survived  some  younger  men  who 
labored  with  him. 

He  acquired  the  Telugu  language  with  facility  and  translated 
Luther's  Catechism  for  the  benefit  of  the  natives. 

He  was  extremely  simple  in  his  habits  and  frugal  in  his  diet, 
and  could  live  where  some  other  men  would  starve.  On  his  first 
voyage  to  India  he  sailed  from  Boston  in  the  same  ship  with  some 
missionaries  of  the  American  Board.  His  salary  was  $600  and 
theirs  over  three  times  as  much.  He  told  me  on  his  return,  or 
wrote  to  me,  that  he  was  amazed  to  see  the  handsome,  and,  in  his 
economical  view,  costly  furniture  which  those  men  carried  out 
with  them,  whilst  he  had  nothing  but  a  leathern  sack  which  con- 
tained all  his  baggage.  Much  depends  upon  training,  but  Bro. 
Heyer  had  such  apostolic  notions  of  things  that  he  thought  that 
a  bag  and  a  stall  were  all  a  missionary  should  take  with  him. 
I  doubt  even  whether  he  had  "  two  coats." 

In  his  latter  years  he  allowed  his  beard  and  moustache  to  grow, 
which  wonderfully  changed  his  appearance.  There  is  a  fair  por- 
trait of  him  in  the  chapel  of  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Phila- 
delphia. 

One  of  our  missionaries  in  India,  on  hearing  of  the  death  of 
Mr.  Heyer,  writes  thus  to  the  Observer  : 

A  few  thoughts,  in  his  memory  written  among  the  scenes  of  his 
former  labors,  may  probably  not  be  thought  out  of  place. 

Father  Heyer  was  the  pioneer  of  our  work  here — the  man,  who 
with  the  weight  of  fifty  years  wpon  him,  and  a  naturally  delicate 
constitution,  finding  no  younger  man  with  courage  enough  to 
undertake  the  work,  started  for  the  other  end  of  the  vi^orld  to 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  213 

found  a  mission,  and,  as  we  know,  right  bravely  did  he  carry  out 
his  work.  It  may  be  interesting  to  know  how  he  came  to  select 
Guntur  as  the  center  of  his  operations.  The  following,  as  far  as 
I  can  ascertain,  is  the  true  story  : 

When  he  landed  in  India  he  was  evidently  not  as  well  informed 
in  regard  to  the  prospects  of  the  missionary  enterprise  as  he 
might  have  been  in  1842.  And  so  landing  at  Colombo  he  com- 
meiiced  an  irregular  sort  of  search  for  a  missionary  opening,  grad- 
ually finding  his  way  northward.  After  a  good  deal  of  aimless 
searching,  he  did,  what  discretion,  it  wonld  seem,  should  have  dic- 
tated at  first,  went  to  Madras,  and  consulted  with  the  missionaries 
there.  Circumstances  at  the  time  seemed  to  indicate  the  Telugoo 
country  as  a  promising  field,  and  they  advised  him,  if  the  stock 
of  moral  courage  which  he  had  brought  j.long  was  sufficient,  to  com- 
mence his  enterprise  there.  Now  it  was  just  in  that  very  stuflf,  so 
absolutely  essential  to  all  decent  success  in  life  —  simple  moral 
courage — that  the  old  gentleman  pre-eminently  abounded.  There 
was  none  of  the  Pariah  about  him.  So  generous  was  the  original 
stock  thai3  it  lasted  him  eighty  years,  with  enough  left,  I  shall  take 
it  upon  myself  to  say,  to  bear  him  unfalteringly  through  that  or- 
deal which  shall  call  for  the  divinest  courage  which  the  shrinking 
soul  of  man  may  ever  know. 

Accepting  the  advice  of  the  missionaries,  he  bought  an  old  pal- 
ankeen, and  set  out  for  the  Telugoo  country.  Passing  on  by  Nai- 
dupett,  Girdiur,  Nellore  and  Ongole,  he  finally  found  himself 
among  the  palmyra  topes  of  Baptula,  some  thirty  miles  south-east 
of  Guntur.  Here  he  resolved  to  establish  the  tabernacle.  Select- 
ing two  contiguous  trees  he  tied  his  palankeen  up  between  them, 
cut  of  the  reach  of  prowling  jackals  and  pariah  dogs,  and  pro- 
claimed the  American  Lutheran  mission  founded. 

Mr.  H.  Stokes  was  then  collector  at  Guntur,  a  godly,  noble  man, 
by  the  consent  of  all.  He  has  returned  to  England  long  ago,  but 
it  will  require  many  long  years  until  the  perennial  fragrance  of  his 
fair  fame  shall  have  passed  from  the  memory  of  the  people  of  Gun- 
tur, Christian  and  heathen.  We  mean  no  detraction  from  the  just 
merits  of  the  early  missionaries  here,  when  we  record  that  H. 
Stokes,  the  pious,  godly  collector  of  the  Zillah,  was  the  actual 
founder  of  the  mission.  The  first  converts  in  Guntur  were  from 
among  his  servants,  influenced  by  him  to  accept  Christianity. 
Old  John,  the  first  convert  in  the  Palnud,  where  there  are  now 

14 


214  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

upward  of  2000  Christian  adherents,  told  me  one  night  as  we  sat 
in  conversation  under  the  stars,  outside  of  his  village,  that  it  was 
through  Mr.  Stokes'  influence  that  he,  and  the  first  Christians  in 
the  Palnud,  were  induced  to  cast  their  idols  to  the  bats. 

Shortly  after  Father  Heyer  had  flung  out  his  banner  from  the 
top  of  his  old  palankeen  down  among  the  palmyras,  news  came 
to  Guntur,  one  day,  that  a  little  old  padre  had  established  him- 
self down  in  the  Biiptula  woods,  asserting  that  he  meant  to  stay 
there.  Now  Mr.  Stokes,  being  a  missionary  himself,  in  his  way, 
heard  the  news  with  rejoicing.  It  was  for  a  fellow-missionary 
that  he  had  long  been  waiting.  He  at  once  sent  a  peon  with  some 
coolies  down  to  put  the  padre  into  his  palky  and  bring  him  up  ; 
and  that  is  the  way,  it  is  said,  the  mission  came  to  be  established 
at  Guntur. 

Now  and  then,  though  not  frequently,  God  sends  men  into  the 
world  born  pioneers,  and  Father  Heyer  was  evidently  one  of  them. 
He  was  a  man  peculiarly  indifferent  to  those  comforts  and  conve- 
niences which  most  of  us  consider  so  essential  to  the  proper  enjoy- 
ment of  life.  Although  I  could  never  understand  that  a  missionary 
was  under  greater  obligation  than  anybody  else  to  deny  himself 
the  poor  little  comforts  which  go  to  make  his  life  —  sad  enough 
already,  God  knows — at  least  endurable.  But  the  fact  is  Father 
Heyer  cared  nothing  for  them.  Give  him  a  dish  of  curry  and 
rice,  and  a  place  to  spread  his  blanket  and  mat,  undisturbed  by 
village  dogs  or  pigs,  and  his  catalogue  of  necessary  comforts  was 
complete. 

A  characteristic  story  used  to  be  told  of  him  by  Groning,  one 
of  his  contemporaries  here.  Being  on  a  missionary  tour,  he  met 
an  English  official,  and  invited  him  to  his  headquarters  to  break- 
fast. A.rrived  there,  he  bade  the  Englishman  be  seated,  and  pro- 
•ceeded  to  extract  a  suspicious  looking  leg  of'  mutton  from  the 
interior  of  an  old  boot,  which,  together  with  a  pot  of  cold  rice, 
he  placed  upon  the  table,  and  bade  his  guest  to  "lend  a  hand." 
The  story  goes  that  it  suddenly  occurred  to  his  guest  that  he  had 
some  supplies  in  his  bandy,  hard  by,  and,  holding  out  to  the  old 
gentleman  that  it  was  only  fair  that  he  should  contribute  at  least 
something  to  the  general  stock,  had  them  brought,  and  they  made 
a  joint  affair  of  it. 

He  labored  to  carry  on  the  mission  on  the  most  extreme  princi- 
ples of  economy.     And  this  is  all  right  enough,  too,  within  certain 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN   TEE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  215 

limits.  The  only  difTiculty  was  that  he  committed  the  error  of 
supposing  that  everybody  else  could  live  as  economically  as  he. 
One  of  the  brethren  once  wrote  him,  asking  his  influence  toward 
securing  an  increase  of  his  salary.  He  replied  that  he  thought 
the  brother's  salary  quite  sufficient,  seeing  that  he  himself  man- 
aged to  live  quite  comfortably  on  forty  rupees  per  month. 

He  was  singularly  temperate  and  abstemious  in  his  habits — the 
■  secret,  no  doubt,  of  his  long  and  vigorous  life.  As  far  as  practi- 
cable he  conformed  to  the  native  manner  of  living.  For  he  argued 
that  it  was  most  probable  that,  in  the  long  run,  the  natives  of  any 
country  Avould  adopt  habits  of  life  most  conducive  to  their  pre- 
servation, and  best  suited  to  the  physical  circumstances  around 
them.  He  had,  no  doubt,  caucrht  the  true  idea,  and  herein  taught 
a  lesson  which  all  his  successors  would  do  well  to  remember,  i.  e., 
that  because  a  certain  manner  of  living  may  be  well  adapted  to 
the  climate  of  America,  it  does  not  necessarily  follow  that  every 
conceited  peculiarity  must  needs  be  observed  in  a  tropical  resi- 
dence ten  thousand  miles  away. 

Of  a  man  who  had  risked  his  life  as  often  as  Father  Heyer  it 
would  be  most  unwarranted  to  say  that  he  had  any  morbid  fears 
of  death,  but  he  seemed  to  be  constantly  anticipating  it.  The 
Christians  at  Poleipalli  still  point  you  to  a  little  maryosa  tree,  at 
whose  base  he  had  commanded  them  to  bury  him,  expecting  soon 
to  die.  During  an  epidemic  at  Guogala  he  even  went  so  far  as  to 
have  his  grave  dug  and  coffin  made.  On  his  last  trip  to  India  he 
came  by  way  of  Bombay  and  Hyderabad,  and  joined  Mr.  Cully  in 
the  Palnud.  Before  he  left  him  he  gave  him  the  address  of  his 
niece  at  school  in  Germany,  with  some  others,  directing  him  to 
write  to  the  parties  in  the  event  of  his  death,  which  he  thought 
would  probably  be  very  soon.  Coming  on  to  Guntur,  he  gave  the 
same  directions  to  Bro.  Unangst. 

He  never  made  much  progress  in  the  Telugoo,  but  what  he  knew 
he  put  to  the  fullest  use.  He  was  an  earnest,  hard-working  mis- 
sionary. On  his  missionary  tours  he  frequently  traveled  on  foot, 
sleeping  in  the  native  huts  or  under  a  tree,  with  a  simple  dish  of 
curry  and  rice  as  his  only  food.  During  his  fifteen  years'  resi- 
dence in  India,  he  never  had  what,  in  any  proper  sense,  could  be 
called  a  home.  Mr.  Stokes  presented  to  him  a  commodious  bun- 
galow at  Gurgala,  and  requested  him  to  make  his  headquarters 
there.     A  queer  looking  headquarters,  it  is  said,  he  made  of  it. 


216  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY, 

A  few  old  chairs,  a  rickety  table  and  a  dilapidated  bedstead  being 
the  only  indication  that  it  was  inhabited  by  a  human  being.  He 
lived  for  years  in  an  old  lumber-room  of  the  chapel  in  Guntur. 
He  humorously  called  it  the  "prophet's  room" — a  title  which  it 
has  ever  since  retained. 

AVell,  he  is  gone  now,  and  the  tired  old  hands  have  been  folded  to 
rest.  Surely  it  was  a  well-spent  life.  He  is  gone,  but  his  work 
remains  on  two  hemispheres  —  remains  imperishably.  And  the 
little  old  padre,  whose  voice  once  resounded  through  these  rooms 
in  which  I  write,  is,  I  doubt  not,  active  to-day  as  he  always  was 
in  life,  only  amid  fairer  scenes  and  infinitely  nobler  activities. 

Another  extract  from  the  Observer : 

QUITE  A  SURPRISE. 

On  the  morning  of  July  10th  I  saw  it  announced  that  on  the 
preceding  day,  Sunday,  my  venerated  old  friend  Heyer  had  ar- 
rived in  Baltimore  from  London.  In  the  afternoon  I  was  reading 
iinder  one  of  my  umbrageous  oaks,  when  all  of  a  sudden  who 
should  accost  me  but  the  veritable  man  himself.  He  had  come 
out  to  spend  the  night,  and  our  meeting  was  mutually  joyous. 
Here  stood  that  missionary  patriarch,  retiirned  from  his  third 
voyage  to  India,  with  health  as  robust,  spirits  as  cheerful,  and 
heart  as  warm  as  thirty  years  ago.  A  very  remarkable  man,  in- 
deed !  His  strength  has  not  abated,  nor  has  his  eye  waxed  dim,  for 
he  reads  without  spectacles.  His  facial  appearance  is  improved, 
for  he  wears  a  gray  beard  and  moustache,  which  cover  his  hollow 
cheeks,  and  which  brought  to  my  mind  the  likeness  of  Melanchthon. 
After  congratulating  him  upon  his  vigorous  health,  he  exclaimed, 
"  This  is  my  79th  birth  day,  and  I  have  come  to  celebrate  it  in 
your  house  !  "  And  we  did.  And  such  a  time  as  we  had  of  it ! 
How  we  talked  of  old  and  recent  times,  and  how  rebuked  I  felt 
that  nearly  thirty  years  ago,  at  the  General  Synod  in  Baltimore, 
I  obstinately  opposed  commissioning  him  to  India,  because  he  was 
then  nearly  fifty  years  old  !  But  see  him  now  after  nearly  eighteen 
years  service  in  that  climate,  having  never  suffered  severely  from 
the  fever  of  the  country. 

Father  Heyer's  career  has  been  one  of  rare  interest  and  unpar- 
alleled usefulness.  He  intends  to  retire  to  his  home  at  Somerset, 
but  not  to  spend  his  remaining  days  in  idleness.  If  he  carries 
out  certain  plans  he  has  in  view,  the  church  will  be  vastly  bene- 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  217 

fited  ;  and  he  should  be  encouraged  to  write  an  autobiography, 
with  reminiscences  of  Lutheran  ministers  of  this  country,  as  well 
as  a  book  of  mission  sketches  of  his  own  rich  experience. 

There  is  not  a  man  in  our  ministry  who  has  made  greater  sacri- 
fices, exposed  himself  to  greater  perils,  encountered  more  difficul- 
ties, and  secured  the  profound  admiration  of  more  friends  than 
this  venerable  gentleman.  Long  may  he  live  to  enjoj^  his  green 
old  age,  and  to  work  for  the  church,  which  is  already  so  deeply 
indebted  to  him  for  his  self-denying  labors  !  J.  G.  M. 


REV.    DR.    HENRY    NEWMAN    POHLMAN. 

BY  REV.  W.  D.  STROBEL,  D.  D. 

The  subject  of  this  memoir  was  born  in  the  city  of  Albany,  on 
the  8th  day  of  March,  1800,  and  departed  this  life,  in  his  native 
place,  on  the  20th  day  of  January,  1874. 

Dr.  Pohlman's  ancestors  were  all  German.  He  bore  the  traces 
of  his  origin  in  every  lineament  of  his  countenance ;  looked  like 
those  men  who  in  the  fatherland  initiated  the  great  Protestant 
Reformation  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

The  boy  grew  up  amidst  the  surroundings  of  a  happy  Chris- 
tian home,  confirming  his  baptismal  vows  early  in  life,  and 
thus  taking  a  decided  stand  with  the  disciples  of  our  Lord. 
The  influence  of  his  sister,  Mrs.  McClure,  a  most  devoted  and 
excellent  Chi'istian  woman,  his  own  earnest  desire  to  do  good,  with 
some  peculiar  circumstances  connected  with  our  church  at  the 
time,  induced  him  to  devote  his  life  to  the  gospel  ministry.  His 
pastor,  Rev.  F.  G.  Mayer,  had  been  one  of  the  active  agents  in 
securing  the  projDerty  of  the  Hartwick  Seminary,  in  1816.  The 
subject  was  one  of  much  debate  and  no  small  excitement  amongst 
the  Lutherans  of  that  day,  ending  in  its  present  location,  about 
seventy  miles  west  of  Albany.  This  was  a  great  event  in  our  infant 
church,  struggling  for  existence.  The  professor  of  the  seminary 
was  a  frequent  visitor  at  his  father's  house.  The  conversations 
there  heard  had  a  great  influence,  and  induced  our  friend,  whilst 
comparatively  a  lad,  to  place  himself  under  the  guidance  of  good 
old  Dr.  Hazelius,  thus  becoming  the  first  student  in  the  first  Lu- 


218  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY. 

tlieran  Theological  Seminary  in  the  United  States ;  and  tu  his 
Alma  Mater  he  clung  through  life. 

In  August,  1820,  he  graduated,  before  reaching  his  majority. 
According  to  the  rules  of  the  New  York  Ministerium,  his  li- 
cense was  not  conferred  until  the  following  March,  when  the 
services  took  place  in  St.  Peter's  Church,  Rhinebeck,  being  con- 
ducted by  Rev.  Drs.  Quitman  and  Wackerhagen.  In  the  follow- 
ing month  of  May,  he  was  ordained  in  Christ's  Church,  in  the  city 
of  New  York,  in  company  with  Rev.  Dr.  G.  B.  Miller.  When 
licensed,  he  had  a  call  to  two  small  churches  in  New  Jersey,  Sad- 
dle River  and  Ramapo,  whither  he  immediately  proceeded.  But 
a  larger  and  more  important  position  soon  presented  itself.  Within 
a  year  he  took  charge  of  the  churches  in  Hunterdon  county.  New 
Jersey,  over  which  he  presided  with  great  acceptance  for  twenty- 
one  years.  The  pastorate  was  large,  three  churches,  many  miles 
apart,  isolated,  much  neglected,  demanding  all  the  energies  of  a 
young  man  robust  in  health,  just  commencing  his  ministerial 
career.  He  proved  equal  to  the  situation,  and  lived  to  see  his 
labors  productive  of  such  religioixs  development  that  each  of  these 
congregations  was  able  to  have  its  own  pastor,  and  to  give  him  a 
more  liberal  support  than  was  originally  received  from  the  united 
pastorate. 

The  great  event  of  his  ministerial  life  there  was  a  remarkable 
revival  of  religion,  which  occurred  in  the  village  of  New  German- 
town  during  the  winter  of  1839  and  1840.  He  had  labored  for 
years  under  much  discouragement.  The  attendance  at  public 
worship  was  good,  the  Sunday-school  flourishing,  the  moral  tone 
of  the  community  very  high.  I  think  that  no  intoxicating  liquor 
was  sold  in  the  place ;  it  was  a  rare  thing  to  see  an  approach  to 
the  desecration  of  the  day  of  rest.  It  was  the  model  of  a  small, 
quiet,  inland  village.  But  there  were  few  or  no  accessions  to  the 
membership  of  the  church.  In  the  hope  of  quickening  the  con- 
gregation, a  series  of  week-evening  meetings  was  introduced,  of 
the  simplest  character,  without  any  thing  of  what  are  technically 
called  new  measures.  The  interest  increased  from  time  to  time 
until  it  became  so  absorbing,  that  meetings  had  to  be  held  also  in 
the  day-time,  when  all  places  of  business  were  closed  during  the 
hours  of  worship.  According  to  my  recollection,  the  persons  who 
first  gave  evidence  of  decided  religious  impressions  were  an  in- 
temperate shoemaker  and  his  wife,  living  on  the  outskirts  of  the 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN   THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  219 

village,  whose  conduct  had  rendered  them  very  obnoxious  to  the 
community.  After  them  followed  in  rapid  succession  many  who 
took  an  open  stand  for  Christ,  until  there  was  scarcely  a  house  in 
the  place  in  which  the  influence  of  the  meeting  was  not  felt.  The 
number  of  conversions  was  about  two  hundred,  of  whom  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-eight  joined  the  Lutheran  church,  which  up  to 
that  period  had  a  membership  of  only  eighty-five.  The  revival 
seemed  to  be  the  result  of  seed  long  and  faithfully  sown,  suddenly 
blooming  into  a  rich  harvest,  the  fruits  of  which  are  still  being 
gathered  in.  The  Doctor's  name  still  remains  a  household  word 
in  that  community,  and  after  the  lapse  of  thirty  years,  in  his  an- 
nual visits,  he  was  always  welcomed  as  a  father  returning  to  visit 
his  spiritual  children. 

On  the  7th  of  September,  1824,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Susan 
Cassidy,  with  whom  he  lived  in  the  very  happiest  intercourse  for 
thirty-nine  years.  She  was  the  mother  of  five  children,  two  of 
whom  preceded  both  parents  to  the  better  land. 

In  the  year  1843  he  felt  it  to  be  his  duty  to  leave  the  field  in 
which  he  had  been  so  very  useful  to  take  charge  of  the  Evangeli- 
cal Lutheran  Ebenezer  Church  in  his  native  city.  He  had  then 
arrived  at  the  full  maturity  of  his  powers,  with  large  experience 
and  vigorous  health.  The  affairs  of  his  new  charge  were  not  in 
a  promising  condition.  The  building  was  small,  and  much  of  the 
elements  which  once  gave  it  strength  had  strayed  off  to  other 
churches,  whose  pulpits  were  then  occupied  by  an  array  of  talent 
surpassed  by  that  of  few  cities  in  the  land.  The  prospect  was  far 
from  hopeful.  Things  improved,  but,  with  varying  success,  the 
most  earnest  efforts  did  not  bring  them  up  to  the  pastor's  wishes 
or  expectations.  Having  completed  the  labors  of  a  quarter  of  a 
century,  with  the  weight  of  advancing  years  pressing  upon  him, 
he  retired  from  the  pastoral  office,  but  not  to  a  life  of  inactivity. 
Preaching  whenever  an  opportunity  was  presented,  continually 
looking  after  the  interests  of  the  synod,  engaged  more  or  less  in 
all  of  our  benevolent  operations,  retaining  his  physical  and  mental 
activity  to  the  end,  it  may  be  said  that  he  died  with  his  harness  on. 

The  closing  scene,  though  somewhat  unexpected,  was  befitting 
one  who  had  labored  so  long  in  the  Lord's  vineyard,  and  to  whom 
rest  would  prove  so  welcome.  For  several  years  he  had  made  his 
home  with  a  beloved  daughter,  Mrs.  Patten,  where,  surrounded 
by  everything  to  make  life  comfortable  and  happy,  his  children. 


220  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY, 

his  books,  the  society  of  congenial  Christian  friends,  he  might 
have  anticipated  a  green  old  age  had  not  a  latent  affection  of  the 
heart  exhibited  symptoms  of  a  dangerous  character,  to  which  he 
was  not  insensible.  In  closing  the  synodical  meeting  at  Red  Hook, 
in  October,  1873,  his  mind  was  burdened  with  the  thought  that 
he  would  see  the  brethren  no  more  in  the  flesh.  In  a  farewell 
address  he  expressed  this  conviction  in  words  the  most  touching, 
whilst  there  was  nothing  in  voice  or  manner  to  indicate  that  the 
end  was  so  near.  He  preached  several  times  afterwards,  and  not 
until  within  a  few  weeks  previous  to  his  death  were  there  indica- 
tions of  failing  strength.  On  the  day  preceding  he  had  a  severe 
spasm  in  the  region  of  the  heart,  which  yielded  to  remedial  agen- 
cies, but,  within  the  next  twenty-four  hours,  quietly  sitting  in  his 
accustomed  place,  his  head  drooped  upon  his  breast,  and,  without 
a  struggle,  he  w^as  asleep  in  Jesus. 

The  Doctor  was  a  man  of  fine  physique,  commanding  voice, 
chaste  and  impressive  delivery.  As  a  writer  he  was  correct  and 
forcible.  Few  who  have  heard  him  in  the  pulpit  will  forget  his 
dignified  bearing  or  lose  the  impression  that  he  possessed  not  only 
great  earnestness  but  more  than  ordinary  force  of  character.  At 
all  general  church  gatherings  a  j^rominent  place  was  allotted  to 
him,  and  his  deliverances  were  heard  with  pleasure.  He  did  not 
aspire  to  the  reputation  of  an  erudite  scholar.  The  time  when 
he  entered  public  life,  and  an  isolated  country  parish  for  twenty 
years,  did  not  offer  many  of  the  literary  advantages  now  enjoyed. 
Still  he  collected  a  large  and  valuable  library,  of  which  he  was  a 
diligent  student.  He  was  well  read  on  all  subjects  connected 
with  his  profession,  an  able  rhetorician,  a  correct  and  graceful 
writer,  and  always  ready  and  hapj^y  when  called  upon  to  make 
an  impromptu  address.  As  presiding  officer  of  a  deliberative 
body  he  had  few  equals.  Prompt,  decided,  familiar  with  parlia- 
mentary rulings,  he  was  always  clear  and  courteous.  All  this, 
combined  with  the  unbounded  confidence  reposed  in  his  character, 
will  make  it  not  appear  strange  that  he  should  have  presided  over 
the  New  York  Ministerium  for  twenty-one  years,  and  over  the 
New  York  Synod  from  its  organization  to  the  time  of  his  death, 
thus  making  him  for  twenty-seven  years  the  presiding  officer  of 
the  body  with  which  he  was  connected.  And  it  was  but  natural 
that  he  should  have  been  chosen  three  times  President  of  the 
General  Synod,  to  every  meeting  of  which,  since  183G,  he  had 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  221 

been  appointed  delegate,  failing  in  attendance  but  once.  The 
merited  title  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  was  conferred  upon  liim  by- 
Pennsylvania  College  in  1843. 

Dr.  Polilman  was  an  active  supporter  of  our  Foreign  Mission 
work  and  was  for  some  years  chairman  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee. 

There  is  a  superb  volume  published  by  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Pat- 
ten, entitled  "Memorial  of  the  Ptev.  H.  N.  Pohlman,  D.  D."  It 
contains  a  striking  likeness  of  our  venerated  friend  and  a  discourse 
by  his  life-long  friend.  Dr.  Strobel ;  a  Memorial  Tribute  by  Piev. 
J.  Z.  Senderling;  the  Memorial  Services  observed  at  the  meeting 
of  the  Synod  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey  in  St.  James'  Church, 
New  York,  with  addresses  from  Rev.  T.  T.  Everett  and  Dr.  Wede- 
kind,  and  remarks  by  Dr.  Magee  and  others,  concluding  with  an 
account  of  the  Revival  in  the  congregation  at  New  Germantown,| 
in  1840,  of  which  he  was  Pastor  at  the  time  ;  and  an  address  at 
the  funeral  of  Mrs.  S.  C.  Pohlman,  in  1863,  by  Dr.  W.  B.  Sprague. 


REV.    DR.    D.    F.    BITTLE. 

The  following  sketch  has  been  abridged  from  Rev.  Mr.  Mann 
and'others : 

Dr.  Bittle  was  born  near  Myersville,  Maryland,  possibly  in 
1811.  Of  his  early  years  we  have,  at  this  writing,  no  intelligence. 
He  was  graduated  from  Pennsylvania  College  in  the  class  of  1885, 
and  had  as  associates  in  the  recitation-room  such  men  as  Dr.  Ezra 
Keller  and  Dr.  Theophilus  Stork,  of  blessed  memory.  He  studied 
theology  at  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  and  on  leaving  the  seminary  was 
called  to  the  oversight  of  a  congregation  in  the  vicinity  of  Staun- 
ton, Va.  Here  he  labored  for  eight  or  nine  years  with  the  in- 
domitable energy  and  self-sacrificing  zeal  that  characterized  his 
subsequent  life.  His  efforts  were  eminently  successful.  Other 
congregations  were  organized  and  church  buildings  erected  in 
Augusta  and  Rockbridge  counties,  which  remain  monuments  of 
his  zeal  and  devotion  to  the  cause  of  Christ  and  humanity. 

An  ardent  advocate  of  liberal  education,  he  left  no  legitimate 
means  untried  to  advance  it,  and  interest  all  round  about  him  in  its 


222  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

benign  and  blessed  influence.  It  was  the  moral  as  well  as  the  intel- 
lectual faculties  that  he  always  aimed  to  develop  and  enlarge.  He 
sought  to  reach  the  heart  through  the  head.  Education  with  him 
was  enlarged  power  and  influence,  and  that  increased  power  and 
influence  was  beneficial  only  when jjroperly  directed,  viz.:  to  the 
glory  of  God  and  the  best  interests  of  humanity.  "While  preach- 
ing in  Augusta  county,  V-a.,  he  established  the  "Virginia  Insti- 
tute," a  classical  academy,  in  which  quite  a  number  of  young  men 
received  their  preparatory  training,  and  subsequently  entered  the 
ministry.  Out  of  it  grew  Roanoke  College.  Early  in  the  year 
1845  Rev.  Bittle  resigned  his  congregations  in  Virginia,  and  ac- 
cepted a  call  to  Middletown. 

In  May,  1845,  he  entered  upon  the  discharge  of  his  duties  as 
pastor  of  the  Lutheran  church  in  this  place,  and  resigned  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1852.  Here,  as  in  Virginia,  the  church  increased  in  num- 
bers and  efficiency.  During  his  ministry  here  the  parsonage, 
lecture-room,  and  Mt.  Tabor  church  were  built.  Here,  too,  he 
aroused  a  spirit  of  education,  and  succeeded  in  establishing  a 
classical  school  in  which  a  number  of  young  men  now  in  the 
Lutheran  ministry  received  their  elementary  training. 

Notwithstanding  the  success  that  crowned  his  ministry  here,  he 
was  characteristically  modest,  humble  and  unobtrusive.  Record- 
ing the  results  of  his  abundant  labors,  as  an  item  of  church  history, 
he  simply  says  in  the  briefest  space  and  in  the  most  humble 
spirit- — "  The  success  of  my  labors  will  be  determined  at  the  great 
Judgment  Day.     I  am  only  afraid  it  has  been  but  little." 

Leaving  Middletown  in  February,  1852,  his  family  resided  in 
Hagerstown,  while  he  engaged  in  an  agency  in  behalf  of  female 
education.  Successful  in  the  collection  of  the  requisite  amount 
of  funds,  the  institution  was  located  at  Hagerstown. 

During  all  these  busy  years.  Rev.  Bittle  found  time  for  study  ; 
and  his  progress  in  scientific  pursuits,  and  especially  in  theological 
attainments,  gained  for  him  honorable  notice  and  commendation. 
It  was  possibly  at  the  commencement  of  1853  that  the  Trustees 
of  Pennsylvania  College  conferred  on  him  the  honorary  title  of 
"Doctor  Divinitatis." 

About  this  time  the  church  in  Virginia  was  agitating  the  subject 
of  the  founding  of  a  College.  Dr.  Bittle  was  urged  to  take  the 
lead,  and  embark  in  the  perilous  enterprise.  He  consented 
to  accept  their  call.     The  Institution  was  chartered  with  collegiate 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  223 

privileges,  under  the  title  of  "Roanoke  College,"  by  the  Legis- 
lature of  Virginia,  in  1853.  Its  first  session  closed  with  thirty- 
seven  students  enrolled.  Gradually  it  pushed  its  way  into  public 
favor.  Its  thirty-seven  students  have  increased  to  nearly  two 
hundred.  Its  library  numbers  14,000  volumes,  and  is  one  of  the 
most  valuable  in  the  State.  Its  cabinet  of  minerals  and  relics 
bids  fair  to  rival  anything  of  the  kind  in  the  South.  It  has 
already*graduated  about  one  hundred  and  forty  y  oung  men,  nearly 
all  of  them  occupying  positions  of  honor  and  influence  in  the 
different  professions  and  pursuits  of  life.  A  large  j)er  centum  of 
its  graduates,  nearly  one-third,  are  engaged  in  the  active  work  of 
the  ministry.  Roanoke  College  draws  her  patronage  from  seven- 
teen states  in  the  Union.  In  point  of  patronage  Roanoke  College 
is  now  the  fourth  institution  of  its  kind  in  Virginia. 

The  Conservative  and  Monitor,  of  Salem,  speaks  of  him  in  his 
official  character  as  follows  : 

As  a  President  he  was  no  martinet,  least  of  all  a  tyrant,  fre- 
quently, from  humility  and  lowly-mindedness,  failing  to  exercise 
even  necessary  authority.  His  was  a  gentle  ruling,  full  of  allow- 
ances for  the  frailties  of  "boy  nature,"  and  ever  ready  to  try  the 
chances  of  reform.  The  secret  of  his  great  influence  over  his 
student-realm  was  the  strong  appreciation  every  one  felt  of  his 
earnest  interest  in  his  temporal  and  spiritual  welfare,  which,  with- 
out relaxation,  followed  the  student  in  all  his  ways. 

As  an  instructor  he  loved  his  work,  was  happy  in  his  lecture 
room,  patiently  labored  to  bring  his  own  and  the  thoughts  of  his 
text-book  home  to  the  humblest  conception.  Any  manifestation 
of  interest  in  the  subject  taught,  real  or  feigned,  quickly  won  his 
attention,  and  in  his  estimation,  like  charity,  "  covered  a  multitude 
of  faults." 

He  loved  books.  In  his  visits  to  the  large  cities  he  found  out, 
as  by  instinct,  the  obscure  stalls  where  old  ones  were  for  sale,  and 
bore  them  as  prizes  to  his  own  or  the  college  shelves.  During  his 
sojourn  he  often  substituted  a  rare  book  for  a  needed  meal  when 
the  alternative  was  presented.  The  splendid  library  which  he 
collected  for  the  College  is  a  monument  both  to  his  fine  apprecia- 
tion and  tireless  activity. 

Physically  Dr.  Bittle  had  an  iron  constitution,  built  up  by  labor 
on  the  farm.  A  feebler  body  could  not  have  sustained  his  labors 
nor  afforded  a  basis  for  his  will.     Though  sixty-five  years  of  age 


224  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

at  his  cleatli,  a  stranger,  judging  by  his  appearance  alone,  would 
have  pronounced  him  ten  or  fifteen  years  younger. 

As  a  scholar  he  was  a  man  of  extensive  and  varied  learning. 
His  attainments  were  remarkable,  when  his  active  life  is  consid- 
ered. His  mind  was  not  quick  to  apprehend,  but  firmly  retained 
its  acquisitions,  and  by  the  diligent  use  of  moments  he  attained 
his  eminence  in  scholarship.  He  was  well  acquainted  with  geol- 
ogy and  botany.  Many  of  the  rarest  specimens  of  the  splendid 
cabinet  of  the  college  were  found  by  him.  He  was  familiar  with 
history.  In  addition  to  the  ancient  languages  taught  in  the  ordi- 
nary college  course,  he  read  Hebrew  and  the  more  popular  modern 
languages.  He  was  a  fine  metaphysician.  He  had  investigated 
for  himself  all  the  great  metaphysical  questions,  and  while  he 
could  give  a  ready  answer  as  to  what  others  said,  he  was  equally 
ready  with  his  own  opinions.  His  specialty  was  logic.  He  had 
a  taste  for  antiquities,  and  was  never  more  interesting  than  when 
discussing  such  things  as  the  origin  of  man.  His  researches  were 
■  directed  to  almost  every  department  of  literature  and  science, 
and,  in  the  wide  range  of  discussion  encouraged  in  his  class-room, 
we  have  never  known  one  subject  to  arise  with  which  he  did  not 
seem  to  be  acquainted. 

As  a  teacher  he  was  successful.  He  laid  the  foundation  and 
directed  future  study.  His  pupils  generally  have  pursued  meta- 
physical studies,  as  far  as  their  opportunities  allowed.  Those  who 
have  prosecuted  their  course  at  the  University  of  Virginia  have 
all  taken  high  rank  in  the  school  of  Moral  Philosophy. 

He  could  not  be  regarded  as  a  profound  theologian.  He  did 
not  seem  to  have  worked  thoroughly  out  any  system.  His  judg- 
ments were  often  profound,  but  very  frequently  were  not  in  har- 
mony. We  have  heard  him  preach  that  which  was  consistent 
only  with  strict  Calvinism ;  then  again  that  which  was  Arminia- 
nism. 

As  a  preacher  he  was  plain,  simple,  practical  and  earnest.  He 
was  not  a  finished  orator  ;  but  there  was  a  simplicity  and  earnest- 
ness in  all  his  sermons  such  as  are  found  in  few  men,  and  "  the 
people  heard  him  gladly."  His  illustrations  were  always  drawn 
from  the  Bible,  and  he  was  eminently  a  Biblical  preacher.  His 
language  was  that  of  every-day  life,  and  often  grammatically  in- 
correct.      He  eschewed  the  flowers  of  rhetoric. 


FIFTY   YEAKS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  225 

His  arrangements  often  neglected  all  homiletical  rules,  and  yet 
there  was  in  every  sermon  a  connection  that  gave  it  unity.  His 
manner  was  to  preach  from  short  notes,  mere  heads.  He  rarely 
ever  attempted  to  preach  from  manuscript,  and  then  he  always 
api^eared  to  great  disadvantage.  He  rarely  ever  wrote  in  full  a 
discourse.  He  was  a  ready  man.  At  Synod  he  said  he  was  the 
"gap"  preacher;  when  nobody  else  would  preach,  he  was  ap- 
pointed.    He  was  always  willing. 

One  who  was  intimately  associated  with  him  said  to  us  a  few 
years  ago,  "  The  longer  and  better  I  know  Dr.  Bittle  the  more  I 
admire  the  simplicity  and  deep  moral  earnestness  of  his  charac- 
ter." He  loved  the  Lutheran  church,  and  he  worked  for  Roanoke 
College  only  as  a  means  of  advancing  the  interests  of  the  Church. 
We  fully  believe  that  if  the  relation  of  the  college  to  the  Lutheran 
church  had  been  broken  off  he  would  have  become  indifferent  to 
the  destiny  of  the  institution.  He  lived  for  Roanoke  College, 
and  loved  and  labored  for  it,  because  he  loved  the  church  which 
it  was  seeking  to  serve.  He  maintained  an  unblemished  character 
in  that  section  Avhere  he  lived  for  almost  a  quarter  of  a  century. 
The  purity  of  his  motive  and  his  integrity  Avere  never  called  in 
question.     He  was  above  reproach. 

He  had  a  vein  of  humor  that  surprised  and  delighted.  He 
relished  an  anecdote,  and  could  relate  it  with  effect.  His  sense 
of  the  ludicrous  was  quick  and  keen,  and  when  a  fit  time  had 
come  to  open  its  stores  he  was  exceedingly  amusing.  He  was  al- 
ways happy  in  his  farewell  addresses  to  his  students,  and  never 
more  so  than  at  the  last  commencement.  But  his  mirth  was  never 
ill-timed,  nor  his  wit  low.  He  seemed  to  find  nothing  laughable 
in  the  profane  or  indecent. 

It  was  his  unconquerable  energy  that  distinguished  him.  He 
worked,  and  he  pitied  and  condemned  those  who  would  not.  He  had 
succeeded  because  he  won  success  by  hard  blows,  and  he  thought 
that  ever}-  man  could.  He  met  difficulties  and  surmounted  them 
by  bravely  marching  forward.  He  had  no  patience  with  men  who 
whined  about  little  obstacles.  He  would  have  men  encounter  seem- 
ing impossibilities,  and  by  dint  of  effort  and  prayer  remove  them. 
He  believed  that  men  should  make  opportunities,  not  wait  for 
them. 


226  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

THE  LATE    PASTOR  BROBST. 

Rev.  Samuel  K.  Brobst  was  born  Nov.  16th,  1822,  and  licensed 
on  the  4tb  of  June,  1847,  in  Philadelphia,  by  the  Ministerium  of 
Pennsylvania.  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  he  prosecuted  the 
work  of  the  ministry  until  within  a  few  months  of  his  death,  the 
labors  of  his  life  were  mainly  devoted  to  the  dissemination  of  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  through  the  medium  of  the  press.  He 
accordingly  began  the  work  of  publishing  and  editing  more  than 
a  quarter  of  a  century  ago. 

In  1837  he  went  to  Washington  in  Western  Pennsylvania,  to 
learn  a  trade,  where  he  received  deep  religious  impressions  under 
the  ministry  of  the  Piev.  Dr.  Brown,  the  Presbyterian  President 
of  the  college  at  that  place.  He  did  not  like  his  trade  and  was 
anxious  to  devote  himself  to  study.  A  severe  attack  of  sickness 
in  1841  compelled  him  to  return  home  ;  and  in  the  fall  he  went  to 
the  Allentown  Academy  and  also  took  private  lessons  in  the  German 
language.  During  the  winter  he  taught  school,  and  established 
Sunday  schools  in  his  native  valley.  W^hen  he  fully  determined 
to  study  theology,  he  was  at  loss  to  what  seminary  to  go.  He  at- 
tended several  schools,  among  them. Marshall  College  at  Lancas- 
ter and  Washington  College  in  Western  Pennsylvania;  in  this 
•  place  he  preached  German  to  a  small  congregation,  and  gave  pri- 
vate lessons  in  that  language.  He  became  an  agent  to  the  Ameri- 
can Sunday  School  Union  to  labor  among  the  German  in  Eastern 
Pennsylvania,  and  rejected  a  splendid  offer  from  that  Institution 
to  become  its  German  Secretary  and  Editor. 

He  was  licensed  in  1847,  but  it  was  only  during  the  last  nine 
years  of  his  life  that  he  became  a  pastor.  He  never  had  robust 
health  ;  but  for  thirty  years  he  served  the  church  principally  as 
editor  of  German  periodicals.  He  was  confined  to  his  bed  but  a 
few  days,  and  died  December  23d,  1876,  deplored  by  all  who  knew 
him. 

Realizing  the  value  of  Christian  nurture,  he  first  established 
the  Jugend  Freund,  a  German  Sunday  school  paper  which  has 
attained  a  wide  circulation.  Nineteen  years  ago  he  founded  the 
Lutherische  Zeitschrijt,  which  in  due  time  became  a  good-sized 
weekly  quarto,  and  attained  a  prominent  position  among  its 
contemporaries.  In  1868  he  commenced  the  publication  of  his 
Theologische  Monat's  Hejte,  a  monthly  theological  journal,  which. 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    TUE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  227 

after  six  years,  he  was  compelled  to  sui^2^end  for  want  of  adequate 
support.  He  was  likewise  the  publisher  of  tlie  Luiherischer 
Kalender. 

A  Pennsylvania  German  by  birth  and  of  the  sixth  generation, 
he  appreciated  the  German  language  as  a  medium  of  instruction 
and  usefulness,  and  urged  its  study  upon  students,  and  its  use  in 
the  preaching  of  the  Goqjel.  He  took  a  prominent  part  in  the 
organization  of  the  German  Press  Association  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  presided  over  its  annual  deliberations,  as  president,  from  its 
origin,  fifteen  years  ago,  until  his  death.  Apprehending  the 
necessity  of  seminaries  of  learning  and  their  usefulness  to  the 
Church,  he  agitated  the  subject  of  transforming  the  literary 
institution  at  Allentown  into  a  denominational  college,  and  lived 
to  see  his  expectations  realized  in  the  founding  and  success  of 
Muhlenberg  College. 

Nor  were  these  the  only  agencies  and  instrumentalities  through 
which  he  made  himself  felt  iij  the  Church.  By  his  counsels  in 
conference  meetings,  his  speeches  at  synods,  his  efficiency  on  eccle- 
siastical committees  and  institutional  boards,  his  visits  to  Sunday 
schools  and  churches,  his  special  addresses,  and  his  occasional 
publications  for  children  and  adults,  he  exerted  a  marked  and 
wide-spread  influence  on  the  German  portion  of  the  Lutheran 
church,  as  well  as  upon  the  German  population  in  America. 

His  talents  and  acquirements,  although  not  of  the  highest, 
were,  nevertheless,  of  a  respectable  character.  He  was  endowed 
with  more  than  an  ordinary  share  of  practical  wisdom,  which  he 
constantly  displayed  in  his  publications  and  periodicals.  His 
genius  enabled  him  to  form  a  true  ideal  of  what  a  Sunday  school 
paper  or  church  periodical,  or  theological  journal  ought  to  be, 
and  by  his  literary  skill  and  editorial  tact,  he  succeeded  in  adapt- 
ing them,  in  a  very  high  degree,  to  the  attainment  of  their 
respective  ends. 

In  the  prosecution  of  the  work  of  publishing  and  editing,  he 
also  established  a  printing  office  and  book  store,  of  which  he  took 
the  entire  management.  He  was  enterprising  in  the  projection  of 
plans  of  usefulness,  and  energetic  in  their  prosecution.  In  a  word, 
his  pastoral,  editorial,  and  business  life  was  characterized  by 
constitutional  industry,  unwearied  labor,  indomitable  energy, 
hopeful  j)erseverance,  and  a  self-sacrificing  spirit. 

He  was  born,  baptized,  reared,  and  consecrated  to  the  Lutheran 


228  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

churcli.  He  was  devotedly  attached  to  lier  doctrines,  usages, 
principles  of  government,  and  forms  of  worship.  In  the  discus- 
sion of  the  confessional  and  practical  standpoints,  which  have 
agitated  the  Lutheran  church  in  this  country  during  the  last 
twenty-five  years,  he  took  a  prominent  part,  and  while  he  was 
decided  in  his  -convictions,  and  candid  in  his  utterances,  he  was, 
at  the  same  time,  courteous  and  fair  in  dealing  with  his  brethren 
who  differed  from  him.  He  was  a  deplorer  of  ecclesiastical  strife 
and  division,  a  lover  of  peace,  and  an  advocate  of  Lutheran  union. 
While  his  constitutional  temperament,  as  well  as  his  Christian 
spirit,  prompted  him  to  avoid  giving  offence  on  the  one  hand,  and 
led  him  to  endeavor  to  please  on  the  other,  he,  nevertheless, 
frequently  failed  to  conciliate  his  opponents,  and  subjected  himself 
to  their  criticisms.  Some  of  the  attacks  thus  made  upon  him  by 
his  contemporaries,  were  harsh  and  unjust,  but  in  defending  himself 
against  them,  he  exhibited  a  commendable  degree  of  moderation 
and  forbearance.  Candor  on  the  other  hand,  constrains  us  to 
admit,  that  in  his  endeavors  to  become  "all  things  to  all  men," 
in  the  church,  according  to  the  example  of  Paul,  he  sometimes 
erred  and  exposed  himself  to  the  charge  of  inconsistency,  if  not 
of  vaccillation.  On  this  account  his  influence  as  a  leader  became 
more  circumscribed  and  the  popularity  of  the  Zeitschrif  consid- 
erably diminished.  But,  notwithstanding  all  this,  Pastor  Brobst 
fulfilled  his  mission  with  such  assiduity,  sincerity,  devotion,  and 
fidelity,  as  to  command  the  esteem  and  admiration  of  all  who 
knew  him,  and  exerted,  notwithstanding  his  weakness  and  imper- 
fections, a  healthy  and  extensive  Christian  influence  in  the  families, 
the  schools  and  the  congregations  of  the  German  Lutheran  church 
in  America. 


MICHAEL    JACOBS. 

Michael  Jacobs  was  born  in  Franklin  county,  Pa.,  January  18th, 
1808.  The  ancestors  of  Michael  Jacobs  were  Alsatians.  Both 
his  father,  Plenry,  and  his  grandfather,  Martin,  were  active  in  the 
church,  and  a  strip  of  ground  cut  off  from  the  old  farm  continues 
to  be  the  site  of  what  is  still  generally  known  in  that  region  as 
Jacobs'  Church. 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  229 

For  some  years  he  attended  the  country  schools  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, where  he  was  especially  deficient  in  all  taste  for  arith- 
metic until  another  teacher  developed  his  faculty  for  mathematics, 
in  which,  subsequently,  he  became  so  proficient. 

In  the  fall  of  1823  he  entered  the  preparatory  department  of 
Jefferson  College,  Canonsburg,  Pa.  During  his  connection  with 
Jefterson  College  he  made  a  profession  of  religion,  and  was  re- 
ceived into  the  fellowship  of  tiie  Presbyterian  church.  But  the 
understanding  was  mutual  between  him  and  Dr.  Brown,  the  pas- 
tor, that  his  connection  with  it  was  merely  temporary  until  he 
would  reside  where  there  would  be  a  Lutheran  congregation,  and 
that  the  act  involved  neither  an  acceptance  of  the  distinctive  doc- 
trines of  the  Presbyterian  church  nor  a  rejection  of  the  distinctive 
doctrines  of  the  Lutheran  church,  to  whose  service  he  had  deter- 
mined to  devote  his  life. 

He  passed  through  college  without  the  least  stain  upon  his  re- 
cord, and  won  the  esteem  and  consideration  of  the  faculty  to  such 
a  degree  that,  on  one  occasion,  they  rescinded  an  act  of  expulsion 
of  a  class-mate  under  the  condition  that  Michael  Jacobs  would 
receive  him  as  his  room-mate  and  exercise  a  guardianship  over 
him — certainly  a  compliment  to  a  boy  not  yet  twenty  years  old. 
That,  however,  his  college  life  was  not  entirely  destitute  of  humor 
is  manifest  from  a  manuscript  periodical,  which  he  edited,  that 
was  privately  circulated  among  the  students,  several  numbers  of 
which  are  in  the  possession  of  his  family.  In  the  vacations  his 
brother  David  and  himself  started  debating  societies  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  their  home,  and  taught  the  country  school  teacher  grammar, 
which  they  then  immediately  communicated  to  their  pupils.  Du- 
ring one  of  his  vacations  he  also  made  an  extensive  trip  into  Ohio, 
distributing  tracts. 

In  1828  he  graduated  with  the  second  honor  of  his  class  and 
the  valedictory.  Shortly  afterwards  he  visited  Gettysburg,  where 
his  brother  David  had  begun  the  Gettysburg  Gymnasium,  and  was 
already  suflFering  from  overwork  as  a  consequence  of  being  the 
sole  teacher.  In  a  conference  with  Dr.  Schmucker  and  his  broth- 
er, he  promised  to  take  charge  of  the  mathematical  and  scientific 
instruction  of  the  school,  but,  as  he  had  already  promised  to 
teach  in  a  boarding  school  at  Belair,  Md.,he  could  not  enter  upon 
his  work  until  the  following  spring.  In  April,  1829,  he  accord- 
ingly moved  to  Gettysburg.     When  the  Gettysburg  Gymnasium 

15 


230  FIFTY   YEAKS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

became  Pennsylvania  College,  he  was  elected  Professor  of  Mathe- 
matics and  Natural  Sciences.  He  read  theology  privately,  and, 
in  the  fall  of  1832,  was  licensed  by  the  West  Pennsylvania  Synod. 
His  labors  at  the  college  were  very  arduous.  Three  professors 
now  occupy  the  field  which  he  had  to  cultivate  alone.  The  re- 
sources of  the  college  were  so  limited  that  in  order  to  do  justice 
to  his  department  he  was  compelled  to  manufacture  the  most  of 
the  chemical  and  philosophical  apparatus  which  he  used.  He 
filled  his  regular  appointments  as  preacher  in  the  college  church. 
He  was  repeatedly  President  and  Treasurer  of  his  Synod,  and,  for 
a  time,  was  Secretary  of  the  General  Synod.  He  was  for  several 
years  editor  of  the  Linnean  P^ecord  and  Journal.  In  1865  his 
department  was  divided  and  restricted  to  that  of  mathematics. 
In  1866  he  withdrew  entirely  from  the  work  of  instruction.  For 
some  years  his  health  had  gradually  been  declining.  He  contin- 
ued a  student  until  the  last,  and  was  reading  in  course  Carpenter's 
Human  Physiology  until  within  a  few  days  of  his  death,  which 
occurred  on  July  22nd,  1871. 

In  attempting  an  analysis  of  his  character  there  are  some  traits 
we  recall  for  which  we  believe  that  he  was  especially  distinguished  : 

1.  Quickness  of  perception,  a  quality  which,  perhaps,  was  de- 
veloped by  his  scientific  studies.  He  seemed  almost  by  intuition 
to  grasp  at  once  any  subject  to  which  he  gave  attention.  The 
most  minute  details  were  at  once  noticed  at  a  glance.  While 
walking  the  streets  or  along  the  roadside  the  smallest  objects  at- 
tracted his  attention,  and,  while  passing  them  rapidly,  he  would 
notice,  in  a  manner  that  would  surprise  his  companions,  any  pe- 
culiarity by  which  they  were  marked.  Every  stone  and  flower 
and  weed  seemed  to  be  a  familiar  acquaintance,  and  every  cloud 
and  star  spoke  a  language  to  him  unheard  by  all  beside.  In  the 
recitation  room  a  mere  glance  was  generally  sufficient  to  detect 
any  error  in  the  most  intricate  mathematical  operation ;  so  as  to 
give  the  students  a  foundation  for  their  hyperbole  that  "  Professor 
Jacobs  could  hear  by  the  sound  of  the  chalk  as  soon  as  a  mistake 
was  made."  Nor  was  this  the  case  only  with  objects  of  study,  but 
in  all  his  intercourse  with  the  world.  He  was  rarely  deceived  in 
men.  He  seemed  at  once  to  read  them  like  a  book,  and  attempts 
at  subterfuge  and  hypocrisy  were  at  once  met.  He  had  a  piercing 
eye,  and  when  it  fell  upon  the  offender  it  appeared  to  him  as 
though  there  were  nothing  left  but  to  at  once  confess  his  guilt. 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN   TEIE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  231 

2.  With  this  was  united  a  soundness  of  judgment  no  less  re- 
markable. The  people  of  Gettysburg  regarded  his  predictions 
concerning  the  weather  as  almost  infallible.  In  geology  and  min- 
eralogy his  judgment  was  constantly  put  to  a  similar  test,  and 
many,  envious  to  gain  a  fortune  by  mining,  found  to  their  sorrow 
the  folly  of  despising  his  advice.  Early  in  the  morning  before 
the  first  days  of  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  he  pointed  out  to  a  staff 
officer  the  strategic  importance  of  Cemetery  Hill,  and  urged  its 
occupation  as  an  almost  impregnable  position  that  commanded  the 
country  for  miles  around. 

3.  He  was  modest  and  retiring  to  a  fault.  He  constantlv  un- 
derestimated his  own  attainments,  and  even  feared  to  mingle  with 
those  eminent  in  his  department.  Shortly  before  his  death,  in  re- 
ferring to  a  paper  read  by  him  in  1846  before  the  American  As- 
sociation for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  he  remarked  :  "  What 
presumption  !  "  * 

In  the  pulpit  he  was  always  somewhat  embarrassed.  In  delib- 
erative bodies  he  rarely  spoke  unless  the  importance  of  the  sub- 
ject, and  his  own  relation  to  it,  constrained  him.  He  was  only  on 
one  occasion  prominent  in  controversy,  and  that  was  when  an 
effort  was  made  to  abridge  the  college  course  of  beneficiary  stu- 
dents. For  a  short  time  he  fought  the  entire  Synod,  and  then 
carried  the  controversy  into  the  church  paper  with  success.  When 
the  degree  of  D.  D.  was  conferred  upon  him  in  18.58,  almost  simul- 
taneously by  AVittenberg  and  Jefferson  Colleges,  those  who  knew 
him  best  can  testify  that  he  was  much  embarrassed  by  it.  His  ex- 
cessive modesty  was  the  chief  reason  why  he  did  not  publish 
more.  His  manuscripts  cover  almost  the  entire  field  of  his  ex- 
tensive department.  Of  these  his  lectures  on  meteorology  were 
of  especial  value,  and  his  pupils  constantly  asked  for  their  publi- 
cation. Bat  he  was  content  simply  with  delivering  them  in  the 
recitation  room,  and  did  not  attempt  anything  in  the  line  of  au- 
thorship beyond  his  small  volume  of  "Notes  on  the  Battle  of 
Gettysburg,"  and  a  number  of  review  articles.  He  was  also  the 
inventor  of  the  process  of  preserving  fruit  by  canning ;  but  was 
satisfied  with  imparting  the  invention  to  his  friends. 

4.  He  possessed  very  ready  wit,  which,  however,  he  employed 
with  the  greatest  caution  and  conscientiousness.     It  often  served 

♦It  was  I  who  prevailed  upon  him  to  attend  that  meeting' ;  and  I  heard  eminent 
meteorologists  say  that  Prof.  Jacob's  paper,  which  was  on  "The  Indian  Summer," 
was  a  most  creditable  performance,  coutaining  the  most  ingenious  explanation  of 
that  phenomenon  they  had  ever  heard.  j.  g.  m. 


232  FIFTY    YEAKS    IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

to  enliven  the  fatigue  of  the  class  room,  or  to  check-  a  student 
who  was  becoming  presumptuous  or  disorderly  ;  but,  when  its  pur- 
pose was  accomplished,  was  laid  aside  for  more  serious  work. 

5.  His  self-sacrificing  devotion  to  what  he  was  convinced  was 
his  duty,  was  also  a  prominent  trait.  His  firmness  and  persever- 
ance were  inflexible,  and  all  else  was  subordinate.  His  life  might 
have  been  lengthened  if  he  had  spared  himself  labor  which  was 
often  too  much  of  a  tax  upon  his  health.  But  often  he  would 
rise  from  his  bed  to  walk  to  the  college,  perhaps  in  a  .winter 
storm,  and  at  the  close  of  the  hour  return  to  take  his  bed  again 
until  the  arrival  of  the  next  recitation  hour,  when  he  would  again 
force  himself  out.  Those  too  who  had  to  deal  with  him  knew 
that  while  he  was  very  ready  to  acknowledge  when  he  was  in 
error,  yet  that  when  he  had  taken  a  stand  in  regard  to  the  discip- 
line of  the  college,  or  any  other  important  matter,  and  his  posi- 
tion could  not  be  shown  to  be  wrong,  no  motives  of  policy  or 
threats  of  injury  to  the  interests  he  was  serving  could  deter 
him  from  his  course.  There  was  a  vein  of  melancholy  in  his 
constitution,  and  he  often  apprehended  the  worst  where  others 
saw  no  danger  ;  yet,  notwithstanding  this  disadvantage,  I  never 
knew  him  to  vacillate. 

6.  He  was  one  of  the  most  sincere  and  candid  of  men.  Not 
indifferent  to  injury,  but,  on  the  contrary,  somewhat  sensitive,  he 
had  little  to  say  concerning  any  whom  he  thought  to  have  wronged 
him,  but  would  seek  the  first  occasion  to  at  once  tell  the  injuring 
one  of  the  grievance,  and  to  administer  in  private  the  needed  re- 
buke. Hg  knew  nothing  of  underhanded  movements,  and  the 
arts  of  chicanery  and  intrigue,  but  dejDised  them  from  his  inmost 
heart.  His  principles  and  intentions  he  was  always  ready  to  de- 
clare openly  and  directly.  Notwithstanding  his  constitutional 
modesty  in  the  private  walks  of  life  there  was  no  one  whom  he 
feared  to  encounter,  but  was  always  ])repared  to  argue  by  the 
hour  with  the  very  best  and  ablest  of  his  opponents.  Neither  in 
such  a  discussion  would  any  man's  standing  or  position  shield  him 
from  being  severely  condemned,  in  case  the  principles  or  the  policy 
which  he  advocated  were  worthy  of  censure. 

7.  His  festhetic  taste  was  highly  cultivated.  The  beautiful  in 
nature  almost  threw  him  into  a  rapture.  A  fine  landscape,  or  an 
approaching  storm,  or  a  sunset,  would  afford  him  the  greatest  de- 
light.    He  would  remain  up  all  night  to  observe  an  aurora  borealis, 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHEKAN    MINISTRY.  233 

or  sit  for  hours  enjoying  tlio  blooming  flowers  in  a  garden.  A 
few  weeks  before  his  death  he  walked  to  the  end  of  ]\Iiddle  street, 
and  looking  out  towards  Seminary  Hill,  then  in  the  glory  of  the 
fresh  verdure  of  spring,  he  said  to  his  companion  :  "  I  will  not  be 
here  long,  and  it  will  be  a  happy  exchange  ;  but  my  great  regret 
is  to  leave  this  beautiful  world."  And  afterwards  on  his  way  to 
college  he  said:  "This  world  is  so  beautiful,  that  it  is  hard  to 
think  of  leaving  it."  He  was  also  fond  of  music.  He  was  him- 
self a  performer  on  the  flute.  He  enjoyed  the  piano  greatly  ;  and 
was  especially  delighted  when  it  accompanied  the  singing  of  some 
of  the  grand  old  German  chorals  of  his  childhood,  of  which  he 
never  grew  w^eary.  For  other  than  sacred  poetry,  however,  he 
had  but  little  sympathy. 

8.  In  his  ecclesiastical  position  he  was  a  strong  and  decided  Lu- 
theran. He  constantly  protested  against  the  tendencies  prevalent 
during  the  period  of  his  maturity  in  the  General  Synod.  The 
radicalism  of  the  Lutheran  Observer  of  that  day  was  a  great 
oflence  to  him.  The  religious  impressions  of  his  childhood  folluAved 
him  throughout  life,  and  these  were  derived  from  Lutheran  sources. 
The  Lutheran  doctrine  of  original  sin,  denied  then  in  some  promi- 
nent places,  he  so  clearly  expounded,  and  so  earnestly  inculcated 
in  his  family,  that  one  of  them  will  never  cease  to  be  thankful  for 
the  foundation  thus  laid  in  early  childhood,  for  the  other  doc- 
trines of  God's  word.  The  Lutheran  doctrine  of  the  sacraments 
he  accepted  heartily,  and  preached  where  it  required  no  little 
courage  at  that  time  to  maintain  it.  The  symbolical  books  he 
studied  and  endorsed,  and  was  gratified  during  his  later  years  by 
the  higher  appreciation  in  which  they  stood,  and  the  many  symp- 
toms of  the  revival  of  a  purer  faith  that  were  becoming  manifest. 
It  was  his  great  regret  that  the  multiplicity  of  duties  connected 
with  his  department  had  absorbed  so  much  of  his  time  as  to  pre- 
vent him  from  giving  more  attention  to  the  systematic  study  of 
theology.  ii.  e.  j. 


JACOB    MARTIN 


studied  theology  under  Rev.  Father  J.  P.  Schindler,  of  Sunbury, 
Northumberland  county,  Pa.,  (his  native  place)  and  entered  the 
ministry  in  1824,  and  served  different  pastorates  as  follows: 


234  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Danville,  Livingston  county,  N.  Y.,  was  his  first  charge,  serving 
there  two  congregations  about  eighteen  months,  when  he  was 
called  to  Williamsburg,  Huntingdon  county,  Pa.  Here  his  field 
of  labor  extended  over  a  great  j^ortion  of  that  county.  HoUi- 
daysburg,  Frankstown,  Martinsburg,  Royer's  Furnace,  Cove  Forge, 
&c.,  were  some  of  the  most  prominent  places.  He  remained  at 
AVilliamsburg,  Pa.,  some  twelve  years,  and  was  next  called  to 
Greencastle,  Fi-anklin  county,  Pa.,  where  he  remained  a  little  over 
a  year,  when  he  was  called  to  Hollidaysburg,  one  of  the  depen- 
dencies of  his  former  charge,  Williamsburg,  and  to  which  he  had 
promised  a  visit  so  soon  as  the  house  of  worship  that  congregation 
was  then  erecting  should  be  finished.  Here  he  served,  with 
Frankstown" only  two  miles  distant,  acceptably  for  several  years, 
when  discord  was  sown,  caused  by  "new  measures"  which  he  did 
not  approve.  Resigned  and  was  invited  to  Mifflintown,  Juniata 
county,  Pa.  At  this  place  he  remained  some  fifteen  months,  when 
he  returned  to  Hollidaysburg. 

He  returned  to  Hollidaysburg,  Pa.,  feeling  assured,  as  his  friends 
informed  him,  that  common  sense  had  predominated  over  "  new 
measures."  But  in  time  the  discord  was  renewed,  and,  therefore, 
gave  up  the  charge  in  H.  as  hopeless,  and  withdrew  from  the 
contest. 

He  was  next  called  to  Berrysburg,  Dauphin  county.  Pa.,  where 
he  officiated  in  the  German  language  altogether  some  two  years. 

Giving  up  his  German  charge,  he  went  to  Johnstown,  Cambria 
county.  Pa.,  where  he  remained  two  years,  and  then  removed  to 
Petersburg,  Adams  county.  Pa.  Here  his  field  of  labor  was  again 
extensive  and  his  duties  arduous.  Four  years  from  thence  he 
went  to  Westminster,  Carroll  county,  Md.,  and  remained  two  years. 
His  last  pastorate  being  Reisterstown,  Baltimore  county,  Md., 
where  he  served  three  years,  aiding  in  the  erection  of  a  house  of 
worship  there,  and  in  the  spring  of  1871  returned  to  his  native 
place,  Sunbury,  Pa.,  where  he  was  permitted  to  enjoy  the  society 
of  his  friends  and  those  of  his  youthful  days  who  yet  remained, 
but  a  few  months,  and  then  departed  to  reap  the  reward  of  his 
forty-seven  years  of  ministerial  labor,  on' the  sixth  day  of  Novem- 
ber, 1871,  being  over  sixty-eight  years  of  age.  G.  M. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  235 


THE    REV.    SAMUEL    FINCKEL,    D.  1)., 

was  born  at  Jonestown,  Lebanon  county,  February  22d,  1811.  In 
1825  he  commenced  preparing  for  the  ministry  of  the  gospel  under 
the  direction  of  Pastor  John  Stein,  in  Jonestown. 

In  the  spring  of  1827,  he  says:  "I  repaired  to  Gettysburg, 
continued  my  preparation  for  the  ministry  under  the  direction  of 
Rev.  Prof.  S.  S.  Schmucker  and  Dr.  E.  L.  Hazelius." 

"  In  July,  1831,  I  was  called  to  Harrisburg,  where  I  was  em- 
ployed as  Tutor  of  the  Dauphin  Academy  for  several  years,  besides 
preaching  at  Greensburg  and  Middletown,  and  occasionally  at 
Harrisburg." 

"At  the  meeting,  in  the  spring  of  1832,  of  the  Lutheran  Minis- 
terium  of  Pennsylvania,  convened  at  Wommelsdorf  (Pennsylva- 
nia), I  was  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel.  At  the  meeting  of  the 
Synod  at  Pottsgrove,  1838,  I  was  ordained,  and  commissioned  as 
Pastor  of  the  churches  in  Middletown  and  Greensburg,  Dauphin 
county,  Pennsylvania." 

"  I  resided  in  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania,  nearly  three  years ; 
in  Taneytown,  Maryland,  three  and  a  quarter  years ;  in  Middle- 
town,  Pennsylvania,  three  years  and  one  month;  Germantown, 
Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  four  years ;  at  Cumberland,  Mary- 
land, two  years  and  eight  months,  and  have  been  twenty-three 
years  of  my  ministry  in  Washington,  D.  C.     December  27, 1869." 

The  years  he  spent  in  Washington  were  the  most  active  and 
remarkable  of  his  life.  Taking  charge  of  the  German  Evangeli- 
cal Church  when  it  was  dwindled  down  to  a  membership  of  only 
fifteen,  and  a  small  house  of  worship,  and  no  parsonage,  and  a 
mere  pittance  of  a  salary,  in  a  few  years  the  church  was  refitted, 
the  congregation  increased  to  a  membership  of  nearly  three  hun- 
dred, a  parsonage  was  built,  and  a  few  years  more  the  church 
building  was  doubled  in  size. 

During  his  ministry  in  his  various  charges  he  either  built  or 
enlarged  every  church  he  served. 

After  preaching  for  twenty-three  years  to  the  Germans  in  Wash- 
ington, he  resigned  his  German  charge,  it  being  too  much  for  his 
advancing  years  to  think  out  a  sermon  in  English  and  transpose 
it  into  German  ;  he  then  felt  that  it  would  not  be  right  for  him 
to  give  up  preaching  entirely,  knowing  he  would  have  all  eter- 
nity to  rest  in  ;  he  undertook  the  arduous  work  of  gathering  an 


236  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Englisli  congregation,  and  to  this  end  St.  Paul's  congregation  ten- 
dered to  him  very  magnanimously  the  chapel  of  Memorial  Hall, 
to  which  place,  in  a  few  years,  he  attracted  about  one  hundred 
hearers,  but  the  infirmities  of  age  and  overwork  made  such  in- 
roads upon  his  health  that  after  two  years  he  gave  up  preaching. 

While  he  served  his  congregation  in  Washington  he  also  held  an 
office  under  the  United  States  Government, 

The  following  is  from  "  The  Daily  National  Republican,"  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  Saturday  morning,  February  15th,  1873  : 

THE  LATE  REV.  S.  D.  FINCKEL. 

"  On  the  14th  instant  the  clerks  of  the  Quartermaster  General's 
Office  assembled  to  take  suitable  action  on  the  occasion  of  the 
death  of  their  esteemed  friend  and  fellow-clerk,  Eev.  Samuel  D. 
Finckel,  D.  D. 

General  George  0.  Thomas  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  Ira  S. 
Allen  was  appointed  Secretary. 

On  motion,  John  S.  Gallaher,  Esq.,  Major  Thomas  J.  Abbott  and 
Captain  A.  W.  Lattimore  were  appointed  a  committee  to  report 
suitable  resolutions.  They  submitted  the  following,  which  were 
unanimously  adopted  : 

When  a  good  man  dies  the  grief  of  his  family  is,  in  a  measure, 
assuaged  by  the  reflection  that  he  has  been  called  to  receive  the 
reward  of  a  well-spent  and  useful  life. 

He  was  appointed  a  clerk  in  the  Quartermaster  General's  Office 
in  1848.  In  service  he  was  the  third  in  point  of  seniority  in  the 
office,  and  labored  with  unflagging  industry  even  after  disease 
preyed  heavily  upon  his  delicate  frame  and  marked  him  for  its 
own.  Yet  he  was  ever  genial,  courteous  and  kind,  looking  upon 
the  bright  side  of  life,  and  by  examj^le  and  precept  impressing 
upon  all  the  duty  of  fidelity  to  every  trust  assigned  thorn  by 
Providence. 

Resolved,  That  we  have  heard  with  profound  sorrow  of  the 
death  of  Rev.  Dr.  Finckel,  and  desire  to  add  our  tribute  of  re- 
spect and  afi'ection  to  his  memory,  and  to  attest  our  sense  of  his 
worth  as  a  Christian  gentleman  and  faithful  public  servant. 

Resolved,  That  we  shall  cherish  his  memory  as  a  bright  exam- 
ple;  and,  as  a  further  tribute  of  respect,  Avill  attend  his  funeral 
in  a  body. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  this  be  forwarded  to  his  widow." 


FIFTY   YEAKS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  237 

The  Quartermaster  General  himself,  and  excepting  a  few  of  the 
clerks,  all  the  rest  of  the  clerks  attended  the  funeral  in  a  body. 

Lutheran  Observer,  February  21st,  1873. — "Just  as  we  go  to 
press  we  learn  of  the  death  of  Dr.  Samuel  D.  Finckel,  one  of  the 
most  widely  known  ministers  of  our  church.  *  *  *  *  He 
died  at  his  residence  in  Washington  city,  *  *  *  *  quietly, 
trustingly,  hopefully.  He  was  only  waiting  for  the  coming  of  the 
blessed  Master,  whom  he  had  endeavored  to  serve  from  his 
youth. 

He  was  one  of  our  earliest  Gettysburg  students.  *  *  *  * 
He  was  master  of  both  the  English  and  German  languages,  and 
read  Latin,  Greek  and  Hehreio.  Several  years  since  he  resigned 
the  church  he  served  in  Washington,  and  exercised  his  ministry 
for  sometime  in  the  Memorial  Chapel,  anxious  to  gather  the  angli- 
cized people,  whom  he  had  served,  into  an  English  organization, 
hoping  thereby  to  furnish  a  nucleus  for  the  Memorial  Church,  in 
whose  success  he  was  deeply,  prayerfully  interested.  He  loved 
to  preach  Christ.  His  prayers  were  remarkably  unctuous.  He 
was  broadly  evangelical  in  his  views  of  religious  truth,  and  eccle- 
siastically of  the  pronounced  General  Synod  School.  *  *  *  * 
*  *  *  His  life  during  his  pastorate  was  a  busy  one,  as  must  be 
the  life  of  any  faithful  pastor,  especially  of  a  German  church. 
He  knew  more  thoroughly  than  any  man  in  Washington  the  re- 
ligious condition  and  wants  of  the  German  population.  The  gath- 
ering of  them  into  our  English  churches  as  rapidly  as  they  became 
anglicized  he  regarded  as  the  true  policy  of  our  church."     *     * 

See  also  "Letter  from  Washington,  Lutheran  Observer,  Febru- 
ary 28th,  1873." 

He  attended  to  his  studies  in  the  morning  as  long  as  I  know 
anything  about  his  literary  habits.  His  library  was  small,  but 
the  best  books  and  authors  were  his  companions.  But  the  Bible 
was  his  constant  companion,  a  greater  part  of  it  he  committed  to 
memory.  He  could,  repeat  whole  chapters  in  several  languages. 
His  prayers  were  always  replete  with  the  inspirations  of  Psalm- 
ists, Prophets  and  Apostles.  His  manner  of  preaching  was  with- 
out manuscript  or  notes.  Dr.  S.  S.  Schmucker  once  said  to  me, 
when  talking  to  him  about  ni}'  father,  that  "  he  was  one  of  the 
best  preachers  in  our  Church,  both  in  English  and  in  German." 
I  cannot  criticise  his  manner  of  preaching,  for  I  do  not  remember 
of  hearing  him  in  his  prime  in  English.     I  have  heard  him  preach 


238  FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY. 

the  most  thrilling  German  sermons,  although  I  did  not  understand 
all  he  said ;  his  action  of  body,  his  gesture  of  head  and  hand,  his 
glowing  eye,  his  face,  now  stern  and  then  placid,  as  he  proclaimed 
the  law  and  the  gospel,  showed  that  his  soul  was  set  on  fire  by  a 
coal  from  off  God's  altar.  The  visible  effect  upon  the  people 
showed  that  what  he  spoke  was  "  Spirit  and  life."  His  voice  was 
not  the  ore  rotuudo,  in  the  lower  chest  deep  tones,  but  that  of  the 
higher  and  more  musical,  very  clear,  very  loud.  His  articulation 
was  very  precise,  always  certain  sounds. 

As  a  pastor,  I  think,  yea,  I  know,  he  was  a  model.  He  knew 
where  every  parishioner  lived  ;  he  knew  the  names  of  parents  and 
their  children,  and  wherever  he  went  in  Washington  or  George- 
town, or  Capitol  Hill,  or  in  Uniontown  across  the  river,  wherever 
a  Protestant,  or  even  a  Roman  Catholic  German  family  lived,  he 
knew  them  and  they  knew  him,  and  their  children  would  run 
out  and  welcome  Herr  Pastor.  The  children  all  loved  him ;  he 
always  had  something  cheerful  to  say  to  them,  and  the  old  people 
loved  him,  for  he  could  be  old  with  them,  and  he  could  be  young 
with  the  young.  He  liked  happy  and  humble  Christians,  but  he 
distrusted  gloomy  people.  He  would  fear  to  trust  a  professor  who 
did  not  show  up  the  religion  of  the  Lord  Jesus  as  altogether 
lovely  and  desirable  for  man's  peace  and  happiness. 

In  his  family  he  was  a  thorough  Lutheran.  Singing  and  in- 
strumental music  were  his  delight.  His  children  were  brought  up 
in  the  love  of  that  science  which  gives  quietude  to  troubled  minds 
and  drives  away  care.  Sorrow  and  trouble  will  not  stay  by 
when  harmonious  voices  of  parents  and  children  join  in  hymns. 


—  .-L  1''^^ — Q ^x^m 


REV.    COL.    J.    J.    LEHMANOWSKY, 

COUNT  DE  BELLEVIEU— FORMER  COLONEL  OF  NINTH  POLISH  LAr  CERS— 
LUTHERAN  CLERGYMAN. 

Many  of  our  ministers  of  thirty  years  ago  will  remember  Col. 
Lehmanowsky — a  very  remarkable  man  with  a  very  eventful  his- 
tory. Some  persons  had  doubts  concerning  him,  but  I  believe  he  was 
an  honest  man,  and  was  all  that  he  gave  himself  out  to  be.  No 
responsible  person  ever  contradicted  his  statements,  and  there 
were  Frenchmen  enough  who  would  have  done  so  if  they  could. 


FIFTY   YEAES   IN   THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  239 

He  boldly  challenged  a  refutation  of  his  assertions,  and  no  one 
ever  accepted  it.  Levassear,  the  private  secretary  of  Lafayette, 
and  the  historian  of  the  General's  tour  in  this  country  in  1824, 
speaks  of  having  met  the  Colonel  in  Washington  ;  and  in  his  book 
calls  him  "the  brave  Polish  officer  who  for  twenty  years  fought 
in  the  ranks  of  the  French  army." 

The  following  sketch,  obligingly  furnished  by  Rev.  P.  Rizer,  gives 
many  interesting  facts  in  the  Colonel's  life  : 

According  to  the  best  information  derived  from  personal  inter- 
course and  other  sources,  Col.  John  Jacob  Lehmanowsky  was  born 
of  Jewish  parents  in  the  city  of  Warsaw,  in  the  year  1773.  I 
am  not  sure  that  his  mother  was  an  Israelite ;  but  his  strongly 
marked  Oriental  features  and  familiarity  with  the  Hebrew  lan- 
guage, together  with  other  circumstances,  were  satisfactory  evi- 
dence to  my  mind  that  he  was  of  the  stock  of  Abraham.  His 
father  was  a  professional  chemist,  and  this  circumstance  afforded  the 
son  ample  opportunity  for  pursuing  studies  in  natural  science. 
Having  received  an  education  at  the  University,  he  directed 
special  attention  to  the  subject  of  Christianity  at  a  time  when  he 
felt  deep  concern  about  future  retribution.  His  religious  convic- 
tions resulted  in  his  conversion  to  a  firm  faith  in  Jesus  of  Nazareth, 
the  son  of  God.  On  announcing  this  fact  to  his  father,  on  the  fol- 
lowing morning,  after  a  night  spent  in  great  mental  anxiety,  he 
met  with  a  decided  rebuke.  Subsequently,  however,  the  old  gen- 
tleman, who  was  an  intelligent  and  learned  man,  bade  him  God- 
speed, and  became  reconciled  to  his  religious  change. 

Soon  afterwards  he  went  to  Paris,  which  city  was  then  greatly 
agitated  by  the  revolution,  and  the  young  and  ardent  Pole  was 
induced  by  the  repeated  cry  of  "  Liberte  et  Egolite,"  to  join  the 
Republican  army.  He  accompanied  the  rising  Napoleon,  and 
was  present  at  the  siege  and  capture  of  Toulon,  in  November,  1793. 
Lehmanowsky  remained  faithful  to  his  great  Captain,  and  followed 
his  fortunes  from  Toulon  to  Waterloo,  a  period  of  twenty-two 
years. 

I  have  often  heard  him  say  that  he  had  been  engaged  in  two 
hundred  and  four  battles.  He  was  with  Napoleon  in  genial  Italy  ; 
amid  the  scorching  sands  of  Egypt,  and  the  drifting  snows  of  Russia. 
In  the  campaign  of  1812  he  commanded  a  regiment  of  Polish 
Lancers ;  and  during  the  disastrous  retreat  of  the  French  Army 
from  Moscow,  subsisted  for  thirty-seven  days  on  rotten  horseflesh. 


240  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY. 

He  was  frequently  wounded,  the  marks  of  which  his  joerson 
plainly  showed.  A  very  severe  sabre  wound  near  his  mouth  was 
received  at  the  battle  of  Austerlitz  in  1805  ;  this  occurred  during 
the  storming  of  a  redoubt,  when  he  killed  two  of  three  cavalry 
men,  and  escaped  the  third  by  bounding  over  a  ravine  after  his 
pursuing  enemy  had  slashed  him  with  his  sabre,  which  struck 
the  chain  of  his  cap,  and  was  somewhat  parried  thereby. 

"Whilst  Napoleon  was  at  Elba,  after  the  battle  of  Leipzig,  Leh- 
manowsky  occupied  himself  at  Paris  with  the  various  clubs  that 
were  plotting  for  the  Emperor's  return.  The  j)icture  of  a  violet 
with  the  sentence  "  Reviendra  aux  Printemps,''  was  well  under- 
stood among  the  Imperial  abettors.  According  to  the  Colonel's 
statement,  Marshal  Ney,  with  whom  he  was  intimate,  was  deeply 
concerned  in  the  plot.  It  is  well  known  that  this  "  bravest  of  the 
brave,"  who  had  been  sent  out  by  Louis  XVIII  to  intercept  the 
exiled  Emperor  of  Elba,  after  he  had  landed  at  Cannes,  joined 
with  his  command  the  invading  army  of  Napoleon.  The  Polish 
Colonel  was  accustomed  to  maintain  that  Marshal  Ney's  promise 
to  bring  the  exile  to  Paris  like  a  caged  lion  was  redeemed ;  for  he 
did  bring  the  lion  and  let  him  out  of  the  cage  at  Paris.  At  the 
battle  of  Waterloo,  in  1815,  Col.  Lehmanowsky  was  one  of  Mar- 
shal Ney's  four  aid-de-camps.  Soon  after  that  decisive  conflict 
he  was  arrested  and  imprisoned  in  Paris  about  the  same  time  with 
Marshal  Ney.  The  latter  Avas  shot,  whilst  the  Colonel  effected 
his  escape  from  prison  in  a  remarkable  manner.  Cutting  his  bed 
blankets  into  strings  and  tying  them  together,  he  fastened  one 
end  to  the  iron  grating  of  the  window  of  his  cell,  which  was  in 
an  upper  story  of  the  Bastile,  he  let  himself  down  one  night,  but  to 
his  dismay  he  found  the  rope  too  short,  and  there  he  hung  a  consid- 
erable distance  above  the  ditch  surrounding  the  walls  of  his  jDrison, 
which  was  filled  with  water.  Feeling  the  desjjerateness  of  his  situa- 
tion, he  let  himself  drop,  and  one  of  his  feet  was  soon  penetrated 
by  a  sharp  spike,  of  which  there  were  many  projecting  from  the 
ditch.  With  much  difficulty  he  managed  to  get  loose,  and  after 
clearing  the  ditch,  encountered  an  armed  sentinel,  to  whom  he  said, 
"Do  your  duty."  But  the  sentinel  happening  to  be  a  soldier  of 
his  own  regiment,  recognized  the  well  known  voice  of  his  com- 
manding officer,  said  quietly,  "  Pass  on  Col.  Lehmanowsky."  He 
soon  found  himself  at  the  house  of  a  friend  in  the  city  of  Paris, 
who  returned  with  him  and  covered  up  the  bloody  tracks  to  a 


FIFTY    YEARS    IX    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  241 

sufficient  distance  lest  his  retreat  might  be  discovered.  Here  he 
was  concealed  for  a  number  of  weeks,  until  his  wound  was  suffici- 
ently healed  to  enable  him  to  escape  entirely  from  his  enemies. 
In  the  meantime,  the  police  were  active  in  his  pursuit,  and  hand- 
bills containing  a  full  description  of  his  person  were  extensively 
circulated;  but  all  to  no  avail  ;  for  he  succeeded  in  avoiding  all 
their  efforts  to  arrest  him,  and  in  due  time  found  himself  safely 
landed  in  the  city  of  New  York.  When  he  reached  the  shores  of 
this  free  country,  he  was  so  much  overcome  by  his  feelings  that  he 
prostrated  himself  upon  the  ground  and  heartily  thanked  God  for 
the  wonderful  and  benign  providence  which  had  brought  him  to 
the  "land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave." 

After  sometime  about  the  year  1819,  he  married  a  Swiss  lady 
in  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  By  his  first  wife  he  became  the  father 
of  four  children,  two  daughters  and  two  sons,  viz.:  Simonetta, 
Lewis,  John  Henry  and  Paulina.  He  resided  subsequently  sev- 
eral years  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania  at  different  places,  and  sup- 
ported himself  and  family  by  teaching  the  art  of  fencing,  at  which 
he  was  an  adept.  He  owned  a  sword  which  was  of  extraordinary 
elasticity.  He  also  taught  some  of  the  modern  languages,  of 
which  he  understood  quite  a  number  ;  among  them  French,  Spanish 
and  Italian. 

For  reasons  satisfactory  to  himself,  he  suppressed  his  real  name, 
and  for  many  years  was  known  as  Major  Lehman.  But  in  1824, 
when  General  Lafayette  was  here  on  a  visit  as  the  guest  of  our 
nation,  Lehmanowsky  was  appointed  to  lead  a  company  of  Poles 
and  other  foreigners  as  the  escort  of  Lafayette  into  Washington 
city.  On  reviewing  the  military  who  had  marched  out  to  greet 
him,  the  illustrious  guest  recognized  his  old  friend,  and  embracing 
him  before  the  crowd  of  spectators,  addressed  him  as  Col.  Leh- 
manowsky. By  Gen.  Lafayette  he  was  persuaded  to  lay  aside  the 
name  of  Lehman,  because,  said  he,  "  Should  any  of  the  Napoleon 
dynasty  ever  again  ascend  the  French  throne,  it  would  forfeit 
your  claims  against  the  government."  Accordingly  from  that 
time  he  resumed  his  legitimate  name. 

I  have  often  heard  him  speak  of  George  Washington  Lafayette, 
son  of  the  Marquis,  as  a  fellow  soldier  in  the  French  army,  and 
as  an  intimate  personal  friend.  Gen.  Lafayette  made  a  present 
of  one  thousand  dollars  to  Col.  Lehmanowsky  through  an  attorney 
at  Baltimore,  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  him  to  purchase  a  farm. 


242  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

A  lady  at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  also  presented  liim  with  a  considerable 
sum  for  a  similar  pnrjiose.  Accordingly  he  purchased  a  small 
farm  near  Knightstown,  in  Henry  count}^,  Indiana,  where  he  prac- 
ticed medicine,  being  known  as  the  Polish  Doctor,  and  cultivated 
the  land  until  the  year  1837. 

He  was  for  some  time  employed  as  an  agent  by  the  Immigrants 
Friends'  Society,  and  then  had  his  headquarters  at  Cincinnati. 
During  this  time  he  married  Miss  Lydia  Sieg,  daughter  of  John 
Sieg,  a  respectable  farmer  living  near  Corydon,  Ind.  The  Colonel 
had  been  previously,  in  October,  1836,  in  Boone  county,  Ky.,  or- 
dained as  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  by  the  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Synod  of  the  West. 

At  the  time  of  his  second  marriage  he  was  sixty-four  years  of 
age,  and  his  wife,  Lydia,  was  twenty-two.  By  this  marriage  he 
came  into  possession  of  eighty  acres  of  land,  and  soon  after  set- 
tled upon  it. 

About  this  time  there  came  to  Corydon  a  wandering  Pole,  who 
made  some  disturbance  in  the  community  by  reporting  that  Col. 
Lehmanowsky  was  an  impostor.  Consequently,  the  Colonel  called 
on  some  of  his  friends,  who  ajipointed  a  committee  of  three  respect- 
able citizens  to  investigate  the  charge  and  publish  their  report. 
The  accuser  appeared  before  the  committee,  but  was  not  able  to 
prove  anything.  The  only  point  he  made  was  that  Col.  Lehman- 
owsky could  not  speak  the  Polish,  his  mother  tongue.  On  the 
other  hand,  Lehmanowsky  produced  an  array  of  documents,  well 
authenticated,  which  satisfied  all  reasonable  people  that  he  was 
justly  entitled  to  respect.  I  shall  never  forget  the  castigation 
which  the  Colonel  gave  that  loafer,  in  the  French  language,  before 
a  crowd  of  eager  spectators.  Dr.  Mitchel,  a  prominent  citizen  and 
formerly  a  State  Senator,  was  chairman  of  the  meeting.  Col. 
Lehmanowsky's  mother  resided  in  Sweden,  at  the  city  of  Stock- 
holm. I  once  saw  one  of  her  letters  to  him,  written  in  beautiful 
style  and  full  of  maternal  affection.  It  was  in  the  German  lan- 
guage. Bernodotte,  the  King  of  Sweden,  once  invited  him  to  join 
the  Swedish  army,  and  offered  him  the  command  of  all  his  cav- 
alry. But  Col.  Lehmanowsky  declined  because  he  had  no  desire 
whatever  for  a  renewal  of  military  life.  He  likewise  declined  a 
similar  invitation  of  Gen.  Sam.  Houston,  before  the  battle  of  San 
Jacinto,  in  Texas. 

Col.  Lehmanowsky  was  a  man  of  very  strong  passions.     One  of 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  243 

his  daughters  told  me  that  the  way  hy  which  her  mother  could 
sometimes  bring  him  to  reflection  and  quietness,  when  greatly  ex- 
cited, was  by  dashing  dishes  on  the  floor  at  his  feet.  But  he  did 
not  always  suffer  himself  to  be  transported  by  sudden  vexations 
and  troubles.  For  one  Sunday  morning,  when  about  to  start  to 
church  with  his  father-in-law's  family,  his  span  of  horses,  which 
had  been  fastened  to  a  hitching  place,  suddenly  broke  loose,  ran 
away,  and  broke  the  wagon  to  pieces.  The  Colonel  remained  com- 
posed and  calm  as  the  summer  morn,  only  remarking — "  So  goes 
my  fortune." 

Whilst  residing  in  Washington  city  he  wrote  several  letters  to 
Joseph  Bonaparte,  then  near  Bordentown,  New  Jersey.  Sus- 
pecting that  his  letters  had  been  intercepted,  he,  Lehmanowsky, 
hastened  in  person  to  Bordentown  to  ascertain  the  truth.  On  ar- 
riving at  the  door  of  Bonaparte's  residence,  he  was  met  in  the 
hall  by  one  of  the  ofiicials,  perhaps  a  private  secretary,  and  in- 
formed that  the  proprietor  was  not  at  home.  The  Colonel  immedi- 
ately charged  the  man  with  intercepting  his  letters,  and  knocked 
him  down.  This  raised  a  commotion,  and  Joseph  Bonaparte 
soon  made  his  appearance,  and  said  with  indignation — "  Col.  Leh- 
manowsky, what  does  this  mean?"  "  It  means,"  said  the  Colonel, 
"that  I  solicited  aid  from  you  as  one  of  your  former  soldiers  now 
in  need,  and  that  this  scoundrel  has  been  standing  between  us.  I 
now  stand  before  you  in  person,  and  respectfully  ask  you  to  do 
me  simple  justice."  "Ah,"  said  Bonaparte,  "first  make  me 
King  of  Spain  again,  and  then  come  to  me."  "  You  need  not 
wait  for  that,"  said  Lehmanowsky,  "when  everybody  knows  you 
spend  immense  sums  in  sensualism."  It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that 
his  mission  was  unsuccessful.  I  have  often  heard  the  Colonel  say 
that  all  the  brothers  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon  were  scoundrels. 
But  he  had  unbounded  admiration  for  the  Empress  Josephine,  who, 
according  to  his  opinion,  was  the  beau  ideal  of  loveliness  and 
excellence. 

As  an  agent  of  the  "  Immigrants  Friends'  Society,"  he  solicited 
funds  in  some  of  the  princijDal  cities  of  the  West.  At  first  he 
would  advocate  the  claims  of  the  Foreign  Immigrants,  and  then 
wind  up  with  narratives  of  his  personal  adventures  as  a  soldier  of 
the  great  Napoleon.  This  plan  he  subsequently  changed,  and 
prepared  a  number  of  lectures,  which  he  delivered  for  a  certain 
fee  of  admittance.     This  proved  more  successful  than  asking  for 


244  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

a  voluntary  collection,  even  from  crowded  houses.  His  lecture 
on  "Josephine"  was  exceedingly  interesting,  and  that  on  the 
"  Destruction  of  the  Inquisition  at  Madrid  "  has  been  made  use  of 
as  a  tract  and  published  by  the  American  Tract  Society.  For  a 
confirmation  of  the  truth  of  that  narrative  he  referred  to  Col. 
Lelis,  his  former  companion  in  arms,  then  an  evangelical  jireacher 
in  the  city  of  Paris  (1837). 

I  once  asked  him  to  explain  why  we  do  not  find  his  name  men- 
tioned in  the  many  histories  of  Napoleon.  Said  he — "  There  were 
too  many  others  of  greater  importance  than  mine."  But  he  con- 
tinued— "  You  may  find  a  prominent  notice  of  me  in  a  book  en- 
titled, "  Memoires  des  Braves." 

I  have  understood  that  on  the  accession  of  Louis  Napoleon  to 
the  French  throne.  Col.  Lehmanowsky  went  to  Paris  to  seek  pay- 
ment for  a  large  claim  which  he  held  against  the  government.  He 
was  arrested  by  the  police  as  an  adventurer,  and  had  some  difE- 
culty  in  regaining  his  liberty. 


J.    Z.    SENDERLING,    D.    D. 

BY  REV.   P.   FELTZ,  D.  D. 

Last  Thursday  morning,  Dec.  20th,  1877,  almost  the  entire  com- 
munity of  Johnstown,  N.  Y.,  was  startled,  as  if  a  thundei'-bolt 
had  fallen  from  a  clear  sky,  by  the  report  that  Dr.  Senderling,  a 
venerable  and  highly  esteemed  ex-pastor  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  of 
this  village,  was  dead.  Only  the  day  before  he  had  been  seen  on 
the  streets,  in  the  apparent  enjoyment  of  his  usual  health,  and, 
as  far  as  human  eye  could  see,  bidding  fair  to  live  yet  several 
years,  as  his  was  a  remarkably  green  old  age.  But  in  the  council 
of  Heaven  his  days  were  numbered,  and  thus  suddenly  he  passed 
from  earth  to  Heaven.  As  he  was  standing  alone  on  his  front 
stoop,  the  summons  came  that  called  him  from  his  much-loved 
home  below  to  his  sweet  and  happy  home  above. 

Concerning  him,  the  universal  testimony  is  that  borne  by  the 
pen  of  inspiration  of  Barnabas,  "  he  was  a  good  man."  He  leaves 
an  unblemished  character,  and   in  this,  "  although  dead  he  yet 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  245 

speaketli."  He  was  an  earnest  and  instructive  preacher  of  the 
Gospel,  a  faithful  and  sympathizing  pastor,  a  devoted  husband 
and  a  kind  father.  Although  he  was  strong  in  his  attachments  to 
the  church  of  his  fathers,  the  church  in  whose  service  he  spent 
his  long  and  useful  life,  the  church  bearing  the  name  of  the  im- 
mortal Reformer  of  the  sixteenth  century,  yet  he  was  no  bigot,  but 
was  ready  to  co-operate  with  all  evangelical  churches,  whatever 
their  name,  in  every  good  work,  and  frequently  occupied  the  pul- 
pits of  the  various  pastors  in  our  village. 

The  deceased  was  born  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  November 
the  12th,  1800,  and  was,  therefore,  seventy-seven  years,  one  month 
and  eight  days  old  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was  baptized 
and  confirmed,  according  to  the  usage  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  by 
Dr.  Philip  F.  Mayer,  who  was  above  a  half  century  pastor  of 
St.  John's  church,  Philadelphia.  Having  in  early  life  a  thirst  for 
knowledge  and  a  desire  to  be  useful  in  the  Master's  service,  he 
was  advised  by  his  pastor  to  prepare  for  the  Gospel  ministry. 
Without  the  least  hesitation  he  accepted  the  advice,  and  at  once 
entered  upon  the  preparatory  work.  In  the  autumn  of  1817  he 
entered  Hartwick  Classical  and  Theological  Seminary,  located  in 
Otsego  county,  N.  Y.,  where  he  remained  seven  years.  Among 
his  class  mates  were  Rev.  Jacob  Berger,  a  very  successful  and 
eloquent  preacher  of  the  gospel ;  Rev.  H.  N.  Pohlman,  D.  D.,  who 
was  pastor  of  Ebenezer  Lutheran  church,  Albany,  for  twenty-five 
years  ;  and  John  Quitman,  who  afterwards  became  Gen.  Quitman, 
one  of  the  staff  officers  of  Gen.  Scott,  who  served  with  distinction 
in  the  Mexican  war,  and  was  the  first  to  unfurl  the  Stars  and 
Stripes  of  his  country  from  the  halls  of  the  Montezumas.  He 
subsequently  became  Governor  of  Mississippi  and  a  Representative 
in  Congress.  Mr.  Senderling  wa§  in  the  Seminary  a  diligent  stu- 
dent, and  graduated  with  honors.  His  Professor  in  Theology  was 
the  Rev.  Ernest  L.  Hazelius,  D.  D.,  who  sustained  the  reputation 
of  being  one  of  the  ripest  scholars  in  this  country. 

Immediately  after  graduating  he  was  licensed  to  preach  the 
Gospel  and  at  once  took  charge  of  a  small  church  in  Clay,  Onon- 
daga county,  N.  Y.  His  salary  here  being  inadequate  for  his 
support,  the  deficit  was  made  up  by  teaching  a  common  school. 
In  1826,  two  years  after  his  entrance  into  the  ministry,  he 
received  and  accepted  a  call  to  Centre  Brunswick,  near  Troy, 
where  he  spent  twenty-five  of  the  most  eventful  years  of  his  life. 

16 


246  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

About  this  time  he  was  married  to  the  daughter  of  a  Moravian 
clergyman,  who,  as  to  piety  and  culture,  was  well  qualified  for  a 
pastor's  wife.  Unto  them  a  large  family  of  children  was  born, 
five  of  whom  grew  to  manhood  and  womanhood,  four  of  the 
number,  three  sons  and  a  daughter,  still  living  to  mourn  with 
their  aged  and  feeble  mother  over  this  sad  bereavement.  May' 
the  great  Comforter  whom  the  departed  father  and  husband  so 
dearly  loved  and  faithfully  served,  comfort  them  ! 

After  his  resignation  of  the  church  at  Centre  Brunswick  he 
removed  to  the  city  of  Troy,  where  he  resided  for  three  years, 
spending  the  greater  portion  of  his  time  among  the  churches  in 
efforts  to  create  an  interest  in  the  Foreign  Missionary  cause.  In 
him  the  benighted  heathen  had  an  earnest  advocate,  and  a  warm, 
sympathetic  friend.  For  a  number  of  years  he  was  corresponding 
secretary  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  his  church,  and  in 
this,  as  in  every  other  station  he  was  called  to  fill,  he  was  a 
faithful  and  efficient  worker. 

In  the  spring  of  1856  he  received  and  accepted  a  unanimous 
call  as  pastor  of  St.  Paul's  church  of  this  village,  into  which  office 
he  was  installed  May  28th  of  the  same  year.  His  pastorate  here 
extended  over  a  period  of  eleven  years.  The  church  grew  not 
only  numerically,  but  in  spirituality  and  efliciency  under  his 
ministry.  Never  was  pastoral  work  more  faithfully  performed 
than  by  him  in  this  charge.  He  not  only  preached  the  Gospel 
from  the  pulpit,  but  carried  it  to  the  homes  of  the  people,  as, 
wherever  he  went,  he  had  a  word  for  the  Master,  a  Gospel  message 
to  proclaim.  He  has  left  the  record  of  three  thousand  three 
hundred  and  forty-nine  pastoral  visits  during  the  eleven  years  of 
service  in  St.  Paul's  congregation.  He  organized  the  first  Sunday- 
school  held  in  this  church,  as  well  as  the  weekly  evening 
prayer-service. 

In  the  spring  of  1867  he  resigned  this  pastorate,  and  has,  since 
that  time,  lived  a  retired  life,  occasionally  preaching  for  the 
brethren  of  his  own  and  of  other  churches.  He  loved  to  preach, 
and  was  always  earnest  and  impressive  in  the  pulpit.  He  loved 
the  house  of  God,  and,  if  not  providentially  prevented,  was  never 
absent.  But  no  more  will  his  genial  countenance,  his  manly  form, 
be  seen  in  the  sanctuary  made  with  hands.  He  now  worships 
with  those  in  white  before  the  throne.  In  his  own  language  we 
would  close  this  imperfect  sketch  of  his  life  :     "  Home,  home,  at 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  247 

last  with  glorified  millions,  in  the  presence  of  Jesus,  in  the  new 
and  heavenly  Jerusalem." 

Dr.  Senderling's  funeral  took  place  on  Monday,  December  24th. 
The  services  were  held  in  »St.  Paul's  church,  the  pastor  preaching 
from  John  v.  35.  Several  pastors  of  the  village  churches,  and 
others  from  abroad,  assisted  him  in  these  solemn  and  impressive 
services.  The  attendance  was  large,  and  many  a  tear  of  affection 
moistened  the  eyes  of  the  old  and  young. 


CHAELES     A.     MORRIS. 

BY  REV.  W.  M.  BACM,  D.  D. 

"With  feelings  of  no  ordinary  emotion  do  we  record  the  death 
of  this  well-known  and  much-beloved  friend  and  brother.  For 
many  years  he  had  been  one  of  the  most  active  and  most  influen- 
tial laymen  of  the  Lutheran  church,  being  intensely  interested  in 
her  welfare  and  contributing  largely  to  her  efficiency.  Everything 
connected  with  his  life  is  of  interest.  He  richly  deserves  a  full 
biography.  The  church  and  the  world  would  be  benefited  by  an 
honest  portraiture  of  his  life  and  character.  His  examj^le  could 
not  but  stimulate  others  to  worthy  deeds. 

What  more  eminently  proper  than  for  his  only  surviving  brother 
and  relative,  for  whom  he  ever  entertained  and  showed  the  most 
touching  and  tender  regard,  and  who  has  equal  taste  and  talent 
in  that  direction,  to  expend  his  unwasted  powers  upon  the 
preparation  of  a  full  memorial  volume  of  this  departed  patriarch  ? 

Although  by  no  means  in  robust  health  for  many  years  of  his 
life,  Mr.  Morris  nevertheless  attained  a  good  old  age,  being  in  his 
eighty-second  year  when  he  died.  He  was  born  and  reared,  and 
lived  and  died,  in  York,  Pa.,  and  was  as  extensively  known  as  he 
was  sincerely  beloved  by  the  entire  community.  A  mere  glimpse 
at  his  character  is  all  that  circumstances  will  allow  at  the  pre- 
sent time. 

Charles  A.  Morris  combined  so  many  excellencies  of  character, 
and  showed  so  few  of  the  ordinary  weaknesses  of  human  nature, 
that  we  believe  no  one  who  ever  once  knew  him  could  fail  to 
appreciate  him.     He  was  perfectly  transparent,  as  easily  read  as 


248  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

any  man  we  have  ever  known.  He  was  the  very  soul  of  integrity 
and  uprightness.  No  one  ever  doubted  his  perfect  and  entire 
simplicity  and  sincerity  of  Christian  character,  and  of  his  success 
in  "  serving  his  day  and  generation  according  to  the  will  of  God," 
there  is  most  abundant  evidence. 

He  was  broad  and  catholic  as  a  Christian,  but  no  less  earnest 
and  devoted  as  a  Lutheran.  Fully  acquainted  with  the  spirit  and 
peculiarities  of  the  church  of  his  fathers  and  of  his  love,  he  was 
proud  of  lier  history  and  achievements,  and  untiring  in  his  efforts 
and  contributions  for  her  advancement.  In  most  marked  and 
beautiful  concert  with  his  noble  and  gifted  wife,  who  preceded 
him  in  death  by  a  few  years,  he  labored  incessantly  for  the  good  of 
men  and  the  glory  of  God.  In  all  general  objects,  with  other 
Christians,  in  church  objects  with  his  fellow-members,  and  in 
congregational  objects  with  his  immediate  friends  and  associates, 
he  Avas  always  doing  and  giving  for  the  Lord  Jesus.  Using  his 
pen,  his  purse  and  his  voice  with  equal  readiness  and  success,  he 
was  ever  welcomed  by  all  who  needed  judicious  and  discriminating 
help.  In  the  Sabbath-school,  prayer-meeting,  church-council, 
synod  or  convention,  he  was  equally  at  home. 

It  is  claimed  by  those  who  can  scarcely  be  mistaken,  that  he 
was  at  the  time  of  his  death  the  very  oldest  Sabbath-school 
worker,  longest  in  service,  in  Pennsylvania.  Beginning  with  the 
very  earliest  Sabbath-school  movements,  he  continued  uninter- 
niittingly,  with  increasing  earnestness  and  fideliTy,  to  the  last 
Sabbath  but  one  of  his  life.  He  was  in  full  and  successful  service 
for  more  than  half  a  century,  preparing  with  conscientioits 
faithfulness  for  every  Sabbath.  At  Bible  class  and  weekly 
congregational  services  he  was  a  model  of  regularity  and  devout 
attention. 

Uniting  with  the  little  band  that  organized  St.  Paul's  congre- 
gation, in  the  early  ministry  of  Rev.  Dr.  Oswald,  he  lived  to  see 
the  consummation  of  his  wishes  in  the  completion  of  the  present 
church  edifice,  of  the  cost  of  which  he  bore  a  very  large  proportion. 
Being  successful  in  business,  he  was  always  able,  and  quite  as 
ready,  to  contribute  largely  to  all  charitable  and  benevolent 
objects.  His  generosity  was  never  exhausted.  He  gave  con- 
stantly, even  more  freely  and  frequently  than  his  friends  knew  or 
believed. 
■   As  a  citizen,  Mr.  Morris  was  alike  honored  and  useful.     He 


FIFTY    YEAKS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  249 

was  especially  interested  in  educational  matters,  and  was  consulted 
and  enlisted  in  all  questions  of  reform  or  improvement.  For 
more  than  fifty  consecutive  years  he  served  as  a  director  of  the 
York  county  academy,  and  was  for  many  years  the  president  of 
its  board  of  directors.  He  was  for  a  long  number  of  years 
— perhaps  through  its  whole  history — a  trustee  of  Pennsylvania 
College,  in  which  he  ever  manifested  an  abiding  interest,  and  to 
which  he  gave  largely  of  his  means.* 

It  may  well  be  doubted  whether  ever  an  appeal  was  made  to 
him  for  sympathy  or  assistance,  that  had  any  just  claims  upon 
him,  without  being  carefully  considered  and  liberally  aided.  In 
him  the  widow  and  the  orphan,  the  poor  and  the  needy,  had  an 
ever  tender  and  sympathizing  friend. 

After  a  short  but  severe  illness,  induced,  it  is  thought,  by 
exposure,  in  going  about  among  the  unfortunate  and  suffering,  he 
breathed  his  last  on  Friday  morning,  April  10th,  surrounded  by 
his  friends  and  trusting  with  childlike  faith  in  his  Saviour. 

THE  LATE  C.  A.   MORRIS— IN  MEMORY  OF  A  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  TEACHER— 
BY  ONE  OF  niS  EARLIEST  SCHOLARS. 

It  is  now  just  fifty  years  since  I  first  attended  Sunday-school 
in  York,  Pa.,  the  school  being  held  in  the  old  parochical  school- 
house  back  of  the  First  Lutheran  church,  and  was  taught  in 
German.  C.  A.  Morris  was  the  superintendent  and  often  the  only 
male  teacher.  The  school  was  small,  not  more  than  twenty  or 
thirty  scholars  attending.  We  used  to  sing  the  beautiful  hymns 
in  the  German  Lutheran  catechism,  some  of  which  I  then 
committed  to  memory  and  shall  never  forget  while  life  endures. 
I  remained  in  the  school  as  a  scholar  until  I  became  a  member  of 
the  church,  in  1826,  and  was  confirmed  with  one  hundred  others 
by  Dr.  S.  G.  Schmucker. 

As  scholar,  teacher,  superintendent  and  pastor,  I  have  been 
connected  with  the  Sunday-school  cause  ever  since.  I  have  great 
reason  to  thank  God  for  the  Sunday-school,  for  I  was  a  wild, 
thoughtless  and  wicked  boy,  exposed  to  many  snares  and  temp- 
tations, and  it  was  through  the  influence  of  the  Sunday-school 
that  my  mind  was  directed  to  religion.  C.  A.  Morris  sowed  the 
seed  in  my  heart  which  afterward  ripened  into  a  tolerable  crop. 
Never  shall  I  be  able  to  forget  that  good  and  earnest  Christian 

*  $?0,000at  one  time  and  about  $5,000  at  other  times  to  Pennsylvania  College 
and  about  $5,000  to  the  Theolog-ical  Scininarj-.  During  his  long  life,  Mr.  Morris 
gave  upwards  of  $80,000  to  religious  objects. 


250  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY. 

worker.  At  that  time  working  laymen  were  few,  and  pastors  in 
our  church  had  so  many  congregations  that  they  could  do  nothing 
but  preach.  Even  Dr.  Schmucker,  with  one  of  the  largest 
congregations  in  Pennsylvania,  had  to  preach  in  some  three  or 
four  other  places.  What  a  change  !  There  are  now  six  large 
Lutheran  congregations  in  York,  and  from  the  little  German 
Sunday-school  in  the  alley  have  sprung  four  large  and  flourishing 
schools.  "  What  hath  not  God  wrought !"  And  much  of  this  has 
under  God  been  the  work  of  C.  A.  Morris.  In  many  respects 
Mr.  Morris  was  far  in  advance  of  his  age.  Thus  he  was  one 
among  the  earliest  friends  of  the  colored  people,  long  before 
Garretson,  May,  Greeley  or  Sumner  had  commenced  the  great 
battle  of  humanity  in  behalf  of  the  oppressed  and  down-trodden 
slave. 

Mr.  Morris  was  an  active  and  intelligent  Christian  gentleman, 
and  during  his  lifetime  did  as  much  for  the  Lutheran  church  as 
any  other  man.  And  although  his  gifts  were  large,  often  running 
up  into  the  thousands,  the  half  of  his  charities  were  never  known. 
I  know  some  of  his  private  benefactions  that  are  known  to  no 
other.  It  was  through  him  that  I  went  to  Gettysburg.  He  took 
me  by  the  hand  when  I  was  a  poor  boy,  and  with  his  counsel  and 
his  purse,  he  stood  by  me  until  I  entered  the  ministry,  and  now 
since  he  is  dead  I  feel  it  my  duty,  as  one  of  his  Sunday-school 
scholars,  to  bear  this  honorable  testimony  to  his  worth.        R.  w. 


ADOLPHUS   F.    OCKERSHAUSEN. 

No  man  who  has  taken  an  active  part  in  our  church  within  the 
last  half  century  deserves  a  more  prominent  place  than  Adolphus 
F.  Ockershausen.  Born  of  Lutheran  parentage,  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  on  September  22nd,  1814,  he  became  a  member  of  St.  James 
church  on  Easter  Sunday,  1833,  continuing  his  connection  with 
it  until  his  death,  serving  as  one  of  the  church  officers  for  over 
thirty-five  years.  His  benefactions  to  that  church,  of  which  we 
know  nothing  in  detail,  were  by  the  thousands,  and  through  that 
church  the  same  might  be  said  of  other  church  institutions.     He 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  251 

was  educated  in  the  Mechanics  Society  School,  amongst  the  best 
in  the  city  fifty  years,  and  from  his  majority  became  one  of  its 
active  members  until  the  end.  When  comparatively  a  boy  he 
went  into  his  father's  sugar  refinery  to  learn  the  business.  When 
but  nineteen  years  of  age  both  parents  died  within  a  short  time 
of  each  other,  leaving  him  to  care  for  eight  brothers  and  sisters. 
So  mature  in  thought,  so  conversant  with  the  business,  so  thor- 
oughly trust-worthy,  the  executor  on  the  estate  left  the  business 
in  his  hands,  with  the  entire  support  of  the  family  —  a  responsi- 
bility which  he  fully  met.  The  business  grew  and  developed  until 
his  became  one  of  the  leading  firms.  In  1849  he  met  with  heavy 
losses  by  a  disastrous  fire,  which  compelled  him  to  make  a  com- 
promise with  his  creditors  for  seventy-five  cents  in  the  dollar.  In 
the  year  1856,  one  of  his  first  acts,  after  becoming  successful  in 
business,  was  to  pay  to  his  creditors  the  remaining  twenty-five 
cents.  Great  prosperity  attended  him  during  the  period  of  our 
civil  war.  From  these  results  one  of  his  first  acts  was  the  endow- 
ment, in  October,  1864,  of  the  Ockershausen  Professorship  at 
Gettysburg,  and  the  pledge,  which  he  was  never  called  upon  to 
redeem,  of  $10,000  to  Hartwick  Seminary  (of  which  he  was  for 
many  years  a  Trustee)  as  soon  as  the  church  should  raise  a  similar 
amount.  For  fifteen  years  he  was  Treasurer  of  the  General  Synod. 
His  courtesy,  accuracy,  and  readiness  to  furnish  funds  when  need- 
ed, are  known  to  all  who  met  him  in  that  capacity.  Other  disas- 
trous fires,  losses  in  business,  shrinkage  in  values,  reduced  his 
large  estate  most  sensibly,  enabling  him  in  the  end  to  leave  his 
family  only  a  small  competency.  But  through  a  business  life  of 
nearly  fifty  years,  his  name  was  the  synonym  of  integrity.  A 
director  of  banks,  insurance  companies,  benevolent  institutions,  he 
was  regarded  as  a  man  whose  opinion  and  judgment  was  always 
to  be  followed.  The  foster-father  of  his  brothers  and  sisters,  the 
mainstay  of  St.  James  church,  an  active  business  man  for  many 
years,  he  was  distinguished  in  every  relation  of  life  for  absolute 
fidelity,  and  carried  with  him  to  the  grave  a  thousand  memories 
of  a  well-spent  life.  w.  d.  s. 


252  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 


MARTIN    LUTHER    STOEVER 

was  born  in  Germantown,  a  district  of  Philadelphia,  February 
17,  1820.  His  preliminary  education  was  received  in  the  Ger- 
mantown Academy,  in  his  native  place.  But  in  1833,  at  the  age 
of  thirteen,  he  went  to  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  and  entered  the  prepara- 
tory department  of  Pennsylvania  College.  In  1834  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  Freshman  Class  in  that  institution.  At  the  very 
beginning  of  his  course  he  took  high,  rank  as  a  student,  and  main- 
tained this  until  his  graduation,  in  1838,  his  graduation  appoint- 
ment being  the  Latin  Salutatory.  In  the  fall  of  1838  he  took 
charge  of  a  school  in  Jefferson,  Md.,  where  he  made  many  friends, 
and  was  looked  up  to  as  authority  in  all  matters.  At  the  earnest 
request  of  the  Board,  in  the  fall  of  1839,  he  returned  to  Gettys- 
burg, and  assumed  the  charge  of  the  Preparatory  Department  of 
Pennsylvania  College.  At  different  times,  subsequently,  he  taught 
almost  every  branch  of  study  in  the  college  while  exercising  a 
general  oversight  as  principal  of  the  Preparatory  Department. 
During  the  presidency  of  Dr.  Krauth,  Prof.  Stoever  lived  in  the 
college  building,  and  acted  as  President  ^^fo  tc7)i.  During  the 
last  ten  or  twelve  years  of  his  life,  his  attention  was  devoted  to 
instruction  in  Latin,  in  the  teaching  of  which  branch  he  was  en- 
tirely at  home,  and  felt  a  deep  interest  in  the  progress  of  his 
pupils.  He  died  July  22,  1870,  in  Philadelphia,  at  the  close  of  a 
college  year  of  excessive  work,  and  at  the  end  of  the  thirty-first 
year  of  his  connection  with  the  institution  as  instructor.  Outside 
of  college  duties,  his  literary  labors  were  almost  entirely  confined 
to  the  Evangelical  Quarterly  Review,  in  every  number  of  which, 
from  its  inauguration  in  1849,  with  the  exception  of  two  issues, 
one  or  more  articles  from  his  pen  appeared.  Associated  in  its 
editorship  for  several  years  with  Drs.  Reynolds  and  Krauth,  he 
became  sole  editor  and  proprietor  in  1862,  and  closed  its  life  with, 
his  own  with  its  twenty-first  volume,  in  1870.  He  published  also 
memoirs  of  Revs.  H.  M.  Muhlenberg,  D.  D.,  and  P.  F.  Mayer, 
D.  D.,  and  several  addresses  delivered  on  special  and  public  occa- 
sions. He  received  the  degree  of  Ph.  D.  from  Hamilton  College, 
N.  Y.,  in  July,  1866,  and  that  of  LL.  D.  from  Union  College,  N. 
Y  ,  in  July,  1869,  both  of  which  came  unexpectedly  to  the  recip- 
ient, his  friends  having  secured  these  honors  unknown  to  him. 
Prof.  Stoever  was  several  times  asked  to  take  charge  of  female 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN   TUE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  253 

seminaries,  but  these  lie  declined ;  also  the  invitation  to  the  pres- 
idency of  Girard  College,  in  Philadelphia,  and  the  Professorship 
of  Latin  in  Muhlenberg  College,  Allentown,  Pa.,  tendered  to  him 
in  1869.  He  was  prominently  connected  with  the  Christian  Com- 
mission during  the  late  civil  war,  was  well  known  among  all  de- 
nominations, and  had  many  friends  all  over  this  country  and  in 
England,  Scotland  and  Ireland.    He  was  beloved  by  all  his  friends. 

TRIBUTE  TO  PROFESSOR  STOEVER — ACTION  OF  THE  BOARD  OF 

TRUSTEES  OP  PENNSYLVANIA  COLLEGE  ON  THE 

DEATH  OF  PROF.  M.  L.  STOEVER. 

Dr.  J.  G.  Morris,  president  pro  tern.,  having  announced  the 
death  of  Prof.  M.  L.  Stoever,  the  senior  member  of  the  faculty  of 
Pennsylvania  College,  a  committee  consisting  of  Kev.  Drs.  Conrad, 
Schmucker  and  Baum  was  appointed  to  prepare  an  appropriate 
testimonial  respecting  the  character,  worth,  and  services  of  the 
deceased.  The  committee  subsequently  reported  the  following 
minute,  which  was  unanimously  adopted,  and  ordered  to  be 
published  and  transmitted  to  his  family  : 

Whereas,  on  the  22d  of  July  last,  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia, 
an  all-wise  Providence  suddenly  removed  Martin  Luther  Stoever, 
Ph.  D.,  LL.  D.,  Professor  of  the  Latin  Language  and  Literature 
in  Pennsylvania  College,  from  the  sphere  of  his  active  duties  in 
this  world ;  therefore, 

Mesolved,  That  we  have  heard  the  announcement  of  his  death 
with  deep  regret  and  heartfelt  sorrow,  and  that  we  bow  to  the 
will  of  God  as  manifested  in  his  inscrutable  Providence,  with 
reverence,  humility,  and  submission. 

Resolved,  That  we  recognize  in  Prof.  Stoever  a  combination  of 
natural  talents  and  moral  virtues  constituting  a  Christian  character 
of  rare  excellence.  His  integrity  as  a  man,  his  attainments  as  a 
scholar,  his  faithfulness  as  a  professor,  his  devotion  as  a  husband 
and  father,  and  his  consistency  as  a  Christian,  won  the  esteem  of 
all  and  endeared  him  to  his  relatives,  pupils,  and  friends. 

JResolved,  That  in  every  relation  he  sustained  to  this  institution 
during  the  last  thirty  years,  as  student,  alumnus,  Principal  of  the 
Preparatory  Department,  and  Professor  of  the  Latin  Language 
and  Literature,  he  has  exhibited  diligence  in  study,  aptness  and 
ability  in  imparting  instruction,  firmness  in  government  and 
discipline,  thus  reflecting  credit  upon  himself,  and  rendering 
services  of  the  highest  value  to  the  college. 


254  FIFTY   TEARS    IN   THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY. 

Resolved,  That  as  a  layman  in  the  congregation,  secretary  and 
historian  of  the  General  Synod,  editor  of  the  Evangelical  Review, 
and  biographer  of  deceased  Lutheran  ministers,  he  has  evinced 
high  literary  culture,  extensive  knowledge,  religious  enterprise, 
and  untiring  devotion  to  the  interests  and  progress  of  the  Lutheran 
Church  in  the  United  States. 

Resolved,  That  by  his  genial  disposition,  his  pleasing  manners, 
his  ardent  friendship,  his  considerate  attention  to  strangers,  his 
generous  hospitality,  his  educational  enthusiasm,  and  his  catholic 
spirit,  he  became  widely  known  and  loved,  and  extended  the 
sphere  of  his  usefulness  far  beyond  the  bounds  of  his  own 
denomination. 

Resolved,  That  by  his  unselfish  and  varied  ministrations  of 
kindness  and  mercy  to  the  wounded,  the  sick,  and  the  dying,  at 
Gettysburg  and  other  battle-fields  of  the  Republic  during  the  late 
war,  he  displayed  a  patriotism  and  humanity  which  will  be 
remembered  by  multitudes  who  were  engaged  in  that  great 
struggle,  and  who  will  cherish  his  memory  with  afi"ection  and 
gratitude. 

Resolved,  That  we  hereby  tender  his  stricken  widow  and  orphan 
children  our  sincere  sympathy  and  condolence,  praying  that  their 
present  separation  and  bereavement  may,  by  God's  blessing, 
eventuate  in  their  future  reunion  and  eternal  blessedness. 

Resolved,  That  these  resolutions  be  published  in  the  papers  of 
Gettysburg  and  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  and  that  the  secretary 
be  instructed  to  transmit  a  copy  of  them  to  the  familj-  of  the 
departed.  Eespectfully  submitted, 

F.  W.  Conrad, 

S.  S.  SCHMUCKER, 

W.  M.  Baum. 

THE  LATE   PROFESSOR   STOEVER — ACTION   OP   THE   STUDENTS  OF   PENNSYL- 
VANIA  COLLEGE   ON   THE   DEATH   OF  PROF.  STOEVER. 

Whereas  it  has  pleased  our  heavenly  Father  to  remove  from 
the  number  of  our  instructors  our  esteemed  friend  and  professor. 
Dr.  M.  L.  Stoever,  who  labored  with  untiring  devotion  in  the 
various  positions  which  he  filled  while  in  connection  with  Penn- 
sylvania College ;  therefore. 

Resolved,  That,  in  this  disj^ensation,  we  recognize  the  fact  that 
God  hath  called  him  to  himself  to  a  nobler  work  on  high,  since  by 
his  life  he  gave  evidence  of  his  trust  in  Jesus  as  his  Saviour. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  255 

Resolved,  That  while  bo^Ying  submissively  to  the  will  of 
Providence,  we  also  express  our  sorrow  at  our  loss,  and  our  deep 
sympathy  with  his  afflicted  family. 

JResolved,  That  we,  as  students,  desire  to  express  our  appre- 
ciation of  his  virtues,  and  shall  ever  remember  wdth  gratitude 
the  uniform  kindness  shown  to  all  his  pupils,  and  the  paternal 
anxiety  which  he  ever  manifested  in  their  welfare. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent  to  the  family 
of  the  deceased,  and  that  they  be  published  in  the  church  and 

town  papers. 

F.  G.  Knapp, 

E.  F.  Bartholomew, 

Geo.  M.  Michael, 

John'Brubakeu, 

Wm.  S.  Frease, 

Committee. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Hay  pronounced  a  memorial  discourse  on  Prof. 
Stoever  on  Sunday,  September  4th,  1870,  in  the  College  Church, 
Gettysburg,  in  which  he  eloquently  improved  the  sad  calamity. 

I  designated  Prof.  Stoever  as  "The  Lutheran  Plutarch  of 
America."  He  wrote  and  published  in  the  Pveview  biographies 
and  reminiscences  of  eighty  deceased  Lutheran  ministers,  and 
every  person  admires  the  impartiality  and  ability  of  these  pro- 
ductions. 

He  once  told  me  that  he  was  gathering  materials  for  a  similar 
notice  of  me.  It  was  said  in  a  style  of  good  natured  banter, 
upon  which  I  remarked,  that  though  I  was  older  than  he,  yet  I 
might  live  to  render  a  like  service  to  his  memory,  which  seemed 
for  a  moment  to  sadden  him. 

The  resolutions  quoted  above  represent  his  true  character. 
They  are  not  the  usual  stereotype  complimentary  utterances  of  a 
meeting  hastily  assembled  and  as  hastily  dissolved,  but  the 
deliberate  and  sincere  expressions  of  men  who  knew  him  well 
and  rightly  estimated  his  exalted  character. 

I  wrote  to  a  mutual  and  life-long  friend  for  a  brief  sketch  of 
our  dear  departed  brother,  and  he  sent  me  the  following,  which 
characterizes  him  perfectly.  Upon  every  one  of  these  points 
much  might  be  said  in  illustration. 

"  The  distinctive  traits  of  our  much  admired  friend  were  : 

1.  His  genial,  kind-hearted,  unaflfected,  and  I  may  call  it, 
beautiful  disposition.     2.  His  open-handed,  generous  hospitality. 


256  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LtJTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

3.  His  accurate  scholarship  in  his  department.  4.  His  assiduity 
in  keeping  afloat  the  Review.  In  traveling  in  its  interests  he 
did  much  for  Pennsylvania  College  by  securing  students.  The 
church  owes  him  a  debt  of  gratitude  by  drawing  out  thereby  so 
much  valuable  literary  material.  He  rescued  from  oblivion  many 
an  important  and  interesting  biographical  and  historical  fact. 
5..  His  extensive  acquaintance  in  other  churches  where  he  favor- 
ably represented  our  own.  6.  His  persistent  refusal  to  leave  our 
church,  though  repeatedly  approached  with  tempting  offers  from 
institutions  in  other  churches.  7.  His  special  efficiency  dui'ing 
and  after  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  and  his  untiring  labors  in  the 
Christian  Commission  work  for  some  months  after  the  battle. 
8.  His  original  purpose  to  enter  the  ministry  and  his  being 
deterred  by  his  hesitancy  of  speech.  9.  His  habit  of  charitably 
construing  the  conduct  of  others — always  putting  the  most 
favorable  construction  on  their  actions.  This  was  a  strong  point 
of  his  character." 


I  have  thus  completed  my  gallery  of  portraits.  Doubtless  some 
of  my  readers  will  say  that  many  more  should  have  been  intro- 
duced, and  I  will  here  state  that  not  a  few  requests  have  been 
sent  to  me  upon  this  subject.  But  I  wish  it  to  be  remembered 
that  I  have  not  undertaken  to  furnish  biographical  sketches  of  all 
the  ministers  who  have  died  during  the  last  "  Fifty  Years,"  but 
only  of  some  of  those  whom  I  personally  knew,  and  who  have 
left  their  impress  upon  the  Church  generally.  To  have  introduced 
all  would  have  enlarged  this  modest  volume  to  greater  proportions 
than  are  desirable.  Man}^  good  men  have  died  whose  influence, 
though  great,  has  been  circumscribed,  and  my  unpretending  book 
does  not  claim  to  be  a  biographical  dictionary  of  deceased  Lutheran 
ministers,  nor  a  complete  history  of  the  Church  during  this  period. 
Another  work  is  in  contemplation  which  will  embrace  a  notice  of 
every  one  of  our  deceased  clergymen  of  whom  any  account  can 
be  received,  and  of  every  other  historical  event  in  the  Church 
from  its  foundcition  in  this  country.  If  Providence  favors  this 
enterprise,  the  nature  of  which  will  soon  be  made  known,  I  am 
sure  all  our  friends  will  be  satisfied.  Nothing  will  be  omitted 
that  will  throw  light  upon  our  denominational  progress,  our  bio- 
graphical history,  our  church  efficiency,  our  literary  institutions, 
and  everything  else  that  concerns  us  as  an  ecclesiastical  body. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  257 


GENERAL  SYNOD. 


I  thought  it  well  to  give  the  following  synopsis  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  General  Synod,  which  embraces  only  the  principal 
events,  that  readers  who  may  have  occasion  to  refer  to  them  might 
be  saved  the  trouble  of  looking  through  all  the  distinct  copies  of 
proceedings.  Here  Ihey  have  them  at  a  glance.  The  transactions 
of  the  various  societies  are  not  given  at  large,  because  they  will 
be  treated  with  sufficient  fullness  under  distinct  heads.  '  I  thought 
the  importance  of  the  subject  would  justfy  such  an  extended 
chapter. 

For  a  very  interesting  article  upon  this  subject,  entitled  the 
General  Synod  and  her  assailants,  see  Evanglical  Review,  January, 
1867. 


History  of  the  General  Synod.* 


The  convention  which  organized  the  General  Synod  assembled 
in  Hagerstown,  Md.,  October  22,  1820.  The  initiatory  step 
towards  this  union  was  taken  by  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania, 
convened  in  Baltimore  in  1819.f  At  this  meeting  (1820)  Rev. 
G.  Schober,  of  North  Carolina,  presented  the  outline  of  a  plan 
which  was  referred  to  a  committee  by  which  it  was  reported  to 
the  Synod  with  some  changes,  and  which  was  adopted  by  a  vote 
of  forty-two  to  eight.  A  pi'inted  copy  was  sent  to  all  the  Synods 
in  the  church,  with  the  understanding  that  if  three-fourths  of 
them  approved  the  plan,  the  convention  should  be  called.  The 
proposition  having  been  favorably  received,  Dr.  J.  G.  Schmucker, 
the  President,  in  accordance  with  the  instructions  given,  published 
the  proposed  meeting  at  the  time  designated.  At  this  convention 
delegates  appeared  from  all  the  Synods  except  that  of  Ohio. 
From  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania  were  present  Rev.  Drs.  G.  Loch- 
man,  F.  W.  Geissenhainer,  C.  Endress,  J.  G.  Schmucker,  H.  A. 

*See  Evangelical  Review,  Vol.  V.,  2o9(ti>(gr.  Also  minutes  of  General  Synod, 
And  an  able  article  on  the  General  Synod  and  her  assailants  in  Evangelical  Re- 
view, January,  1867. 

tSee  Evangelical  Review,  April,  1861,  p.  590. 


258  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Muhlenberg  and  Messrs.  C.  Kunkel,  W.  Hensel  and  P.  Sticliter ; 
from  the  Synod  of  New  York  Rev.  Drs.  P.  F.  Mayer  and  F,  C. 
Schaeffer;  from  the  Synod  of  North  Carolina  Revs.  G.  Schober 
and  P.  Schmucker ;  from  the  Synod  of  Maryland  Rev.  Drs.  J.  D. 
Kurtz,  D.  F.  Schaeffer  and  Mr.  G.  Shryock.  Rev.  Dr.  J.  D.  Kurtz 
of  Baltimore  was  chosen  President,  and  Rev.  Dr.  Muhlenberg  of 
Reading,  Secretary.  After  two  days  of  deliberation,  a  constitu- 
tion was  unanimously  adopted.  If  three  of  the  Synods  repre- 
sented should  accept  the  constitution,  the  President  was  authorized 
to  convene  a  meeting  of  the  General  Synod  at  Frederick,  Md.,  on 
the  third  Monday  of  October,  1821.  The  President  was  instructed 
to  address  a  fraternal  letter  to  the  Ohio  Synod,  prevailing  upon  it 
to  unite  in  this  important  enterprise. 

In  expectation  that  the  constitution  would  be  approved,  com- 
mittees were  appointed.  1.  To  form  a  plan  for  a  Seminary  of 
Education.  2.  To  form  a  plan  for  a  Ilissionary  Tnstihdion. 
3.  To  form  a  plan  in  aid  of  poor  minister 3  and  minister  s  widows 
and  orphans. 

The  constitution  having  received  the  approbation  of  three  out 
of  the  five  Synods  then  in  existence — 

The  First  Meeting  of  the  General  Synod  was  held  in  Frederick, 
October  22,  1821.  Pennsylvania,  North  Carolina,  Maryland  and 
Virginia  (at  that  time  united  in  one  Synod)  were  represented. 
New  York  and  Ohio  sent  no  delegates. 

The  subject  of  a  Theological  Seminary  was  discussed,  but  its 
establishment  was  deferred  for  several  years,  because  it  was  pre- 
sumed that  the  church  was  not  yet  ready  for  such  an  undertaking. 
Some  suggestions  relating  to  a  more  advanced  theological  training 
of  candidates  for  the  ministry  were  made,  and  a  resolution  to  that 
effect  was  passed. 

The  subject  of  Home  Missions  was  also  brought  up,  and  the 
Synods  were  recommended  to  send  one  or  more  missionaries  into 
destitute  parts. 

It  appears  that  a  practice  had  prevailed  to  some  extent  of  in- 
dividual ministers  ordaining  candidates  without  the  permission  of 
their  ministerium,  which  was  disapproved  in  several  Synods  ;  also, 
the  orders  of  deacons  and  candidates  with  power  to  administer  the 
sacraments  prevailed,  which  the  Synod  thought  should  not  be  re- 
tained longer  than  the  exigency  of  the  times  might  require. 

A  committee  was  also  appointed  to  prepare  an  English  Cate- 
chism, to  report  at. the  next  meeting. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHEEAN    MINISTRY.  259 

At  that  time  tlie  Synod  of  Pennsylvania  was  composed  of 
eighty-five  ministers  ;  the  Synod  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  which 
had  been  formed  just  one  year  before,  and  which  was  previously 
a  part  of  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania,  had  fifteen  ministers ;  the 
Synod  of  North  Carolina  reported  thirteen  ministers. 

^J^'This  latter  Synod  reported  that  a  committee  from  the  Episco- 
pal church  attended  their  last  meeting,  with  a  view  to  confer  on 
some  plan  by  which  friendly  relations  might  be  maintained  between 
the  two  respective  churches.  The  result  of  the  conference  was,  that 
any  minister  in  connection  with  the  Synod  should  be  entitled  to 
a  seat  in  the  Episcopal  convention  of  North  Carolina,  with  the 
privilege  of  voting  upon  all  subjects  that  did  not  pertain  to  the 
Episcopal  church  and  vice  versa.  The  committee  on  behalf  of  the 
Episcopal  church  also  offered  to  the. Synod  to  educate  at  their 
Seminary  and  prejiare  for  the  ministry  gratuitously,  any  student 
the  Synod  might  recommend.  This  fact,  in  connection  with  the 
proposition  made  by  Bishop  White  to  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania, 
to  receive  our  ministers  into  the  Episcopal  church  without  requir- 
ing of  them  reordination,  may  be  useful  for  reference  in  future 
controversies,  as  the  question  with  regard  to  the  ministerial  or- 
dination performed  by  other  denominations  is  virtually  conceded, 
and  all  claim  for  the  divine  authority  of  diocesan  Episopacy  at 
once  abandoned.* 

The  Second  Meeting  of  the  General  Synod  was  held  at  Freder- 
ick, October,  1823.  There  were  delegates  from  the  Synods  of 
North  Carolina,  of  Ohio,  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  hut  not  of 
Pennsylvania.  There  was  also  a  deputation  in  attendance,  ap- 
pointed by  a  conference  west  of  the  Susquehanna,  belonging  to  the 
Synod  of  Pennsylvania. 

A  resolution  was  passed  expressing  deep  regret  that  the  Penn- 
sylvanians  were  induced  by  peculiar  circumstances  to  recede  from 
an  institution  which  they  aided  in  establishing. 

The  "  peculiar  circumstances  "  were  the  prejudices  of  the  con- 
gregations, and  the  fear  entertained  by  some  of  the  ministers  that 
the  General  Synod  would  exercise  too  much  authority,  and  invade 
the  rights  of  the  districts ;  all  of  which  was  simple  nonsense,  and 
unworthy  the  men  who  pretended  to  entertain  these  fears.  The 
fact  is  that  some  of  those  ministers  were  intimidated  b)^  the  ra- 
vings of  some  fanatical  foreigners  who  made  the  simple  people  be- 
lieve that  their  civil  liberties  were  ia  peril,  and  that  church  and 

*I  should  like  to  know  when  this  proposition  was  made  by  Bishop  White ! 


260  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHE^^,AN    MINISTRY. 

state  were  about  to  be  united  through  the  agency  of  the  Synod. 
Some  of  the  ministers  were  afraid  to  assert  their  rights  less  they 
might  lose  their  bread.* 

The  committee  appointed  on  the  Catechism  at  the  previous  meet- 
ing, reported,  and  their  material  was  referred  to  another  to  report 
subsequently. 

A  committee  on  Foreign  Correspondence,  consisting  of  Drs.  J. 
D.  Kurtz,  J.  G.  Schmucker  and  G.  Schober,  was  also  appointed. 

The  formula  for  the  government  and  discipline  of  the  church  in 
Maryland  and  Virginia,  prepared  by  S.  S.  Schmucker,  was  sub- 
mitted for  the  sanction  of  the  General  Synod,  and  was  unani- 
mously approved. 

At  this  meeting  it  was  reported  that  there  were  five  Synods, 
nine  hundred  churches,  and  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  minis- 
ters. 

An  elaborate  address  to  the  church,  prepared  by  S.  S.  Schmucker 
and  D.  F.  Schaeffer,  was  read  and  adopted. 

The  Third  Meeting  was  held  at  Frederick,  October,  1825.  Del- 
egates were  present  from  North  Carolina,  Maryland  and  Virginia, 
and  West  Pennsylvania. 

At  this  meeting  the  Theological  Seminary  was  established,  solic- 
itors of  funds  appointed,  and  directors  chosen. 

It  was  determined  that  at  an  early  period  the  directors  should 
meet  at  Hagerstown  to  decide  the  location  of  the  seminary. f 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  prepare  a  Hymn  Book,  Liturgy 
and  Prayers  in  the  English  language,  and  another  committee  was 
authorized  forthwith  to  publish  the  translation  of  Dr.  Luther's 
Small  Catechism,  submitted  by  the  committee  previously  ap- 
pointed. 

The  Fourth  Meeting  was  held  at  Gettysburg,  October,  1827. 
Delegates  were  present  from  the  Synods  represented  in  the  last 
.convention. 

Nothing  of  general  interest  was  transacted.  Resolutions  of  re- 
gret were  passed  in  relation  to  the  deaths  of  Rev.  Drs.  Lochman 
and  Endress,  who  were  among  the  founders  of  Synod. 

The  Committee  on  Foreign  Correspondence  reported  letters 
from  Rev.  Dr.  Planck,  of  Goettingen,J  and  Rev.  Dr.  Kniewel,  of 
Dantzig. 

*The  Synod  renewed  its  connections  with  the  General  Synod  at  Winchester  in 
1853,  and  severed  it  again  at  Fort  Wayne  in  1860. 

1  See  my  History  of  the  Seminary  in  Ev.  Kcv.,  Vol.  V,  413,  for  January,  1854, 
and  my  History  in  Ev.  Quart.  Kev.,  Vol. ... 

X  See  Lutheran  Intelligencer  of  this  year. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  261 

Eeports  upon  the  Seminary  and  Rev.  B.  Kurtz's  success  in 
Europe  were  read. 

The  Fifth  Meeting  was  held  at  Hager.stown,  1829.  There  were 
delegates  present  from  the  three  Synods  in  attendance  at  the  last 
meeting.     At  this  meeting  a  Sunday  School  Union  was  formed. 

The  desire  having  been  expressed  for  the  publication  of  some 
good,  practical  work,  under  the  sanction  of  the  Church,  a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  prepare  a  devotional  book  for  catechumens 
and  Christians  in  general.  This  was  the  origin  of  my  "  Catechu- 
mens' and  Communicants'  Guide,"  published  first  in  1831,  although 
it  was  not  submitted  to  the  Synod  nor  published  under  its  sanction. 

As  objections  had  been  made  to  the  constitution  of  the  General 
Synod,  and  misconstructions  had  arisen  from  the  phraseology  used, 
a  committee  was  appointed  to  ascertain  whether  any  changes  were 
necessary.  The  committee  reported  several  amendments,  which 
w^ere  approved  and  subsequently  endorsed  by  the  District  Synods. 

A  constitution  for  the  government  of  the  District  Synods  was 
also  proposed  and  recommended  for  adoption. 

A  pastoral  address  was  issued,  defining  the  position  of  the 
Synod,  and  removing  all  objections  to  it  on  the  ground  of  indi- 
vidual liberty  and  right  of  private  judgment.  It  asserts  that  the 
Synod  does  not  claim  the  right  of  calling  to  account  the  members 
of  individual  Synods  for  any  offence  in  doctrine  or  practice,  and 
could  do  no  more  than  admonish  the  Synod  to  which  the  offender 
belongs,  to  take  cognizance  of  the  case.  The  several  Synods  con- 
stituting the  General  Synod  are  regarded  as  so  many  independent 
ecclesiastical  polities,  associated  merely  for  the  promotion  of 
brotherly  love,  and  for  the  concentration  of  their  energies.  *  *  * 

The  Sixth  Ifecting  was  held  at  Frederick,  1831.  Hartwick 
Synod  was  now  represented  for  the  first  time. 

The  want  of  a  church  literature  seems  to  have  been  most  felt, 
and  the  business  principally  related  to  this  subject. 

It  was  resolved  that  the  publication  of  the  following  works 
would  be  encouraged :  The  Lutheran  Manual,  The  Lutheran 
Preacher,  a  translation  of  Arndt's  True  Christianity,  The  Lu- 
theran Panoplist  or  Controversial  Tracts,  an  English  Liturgy,  d-c. 
Fifteen  members  were  elected  as  an  editing  committee,  to  whom 
any  book  prepared  by  another  was  to  be  submitted  for  examina- 
tion before  it  was  published. 
17 


262  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

The  Lutheran  Observer,^'  then  issued  in  Baltimore,  and  the 
Evangelical  Magazine,  a  German  work,  published  in  Gettysburg, 
were  recommended. 

The  Seventh  Meeting  was  held  in  Baltimore,  1833.  The  same 
Synods  were  represented  as  at  the  previous  meeting. 

The  subject  of  union  with  the  German  Eeformed  Church  was 
discussed,  and  a  commitee  consisting  of  J.  G.  Morris,  S.  S. 
Schmucker  and  G.  A.  Lintner  was  appointed  to  report  upon  a 
basis  of  union.  They  subsequently  reported  that  they  could  not 
come  to  any  definite  conclusion  upon  the  subject,  and,  by  request, 
were  discharged. 

At  this  convention  a  recommendation  was  passed  that  the  dis- 
trict Synods  adopt  a  uniform  rule,  requiring  ministers  and  con- 
gregations to  unite  with  the  Synods  within  whose  bounds  they 
may  be  located. 

Our  ministers  and  churches  were  also  recommended  to  celebrate 
the  31st  of  October  in  each  year,  in  commemoration  of  the  refor- 
mation. This  measure  had  previously  been  adopted  by  the  Synod 
of  Maryland. 

The  Temperance  Eeformation  was  also  warmly  recommended, 
and  the  book  committee  reported  the  publication  of  a  large  edi- 
tion of  the  Hymn  Book.  A  collection  of  hymns  for  the  Sunday 
schools,  compiled  by  Dr.  Krauth,  was  transferred  to  the  Synod  as 
its  property,  by  Mr.  Dull  of  Philadelphia. 

The  Eighth  Meeting  was  held  in  York,  June,  1835.  Delegates 
appeared  for  the  first  time  from  the  Synod  of  South  Carolina. 

The  principal  points  of  interest  were  Missions  and  Beneficiary 
Education.  At  this  meeting  the  Parent  Education  was  or- 
ganized.f 

The  Pastoral  Address  presented  an  encouraging  condition  of 
the  church. 

The  Ninth  Meeting  occurred  at  Hagerstown,  June,  1837.  In 
addition  to  the  Synods  heretofore  represented,  delegates  were 
present  from  New  York,  which  had  assisted  in  the  formation  of 
the  Synod  at  this  place  in  1820. 

Nothing  new  of  general  interest  was  done  at  this  meeting. 
The  Pastoral  Address  reported  two  hundred  and  fifty  ministers. 

*The  Observer  was  established  by  me  in  1831,  and  I  conducted  it  for  two  years. 
I  gave  it  into  the  hands  of  Dr.  B.  Kurtz  in  1833.  The  Evangelical  Magazine  was 
begun  in  1823,  and  continued  four  years.  Kev.  J.  Herbst  was  its  editor  the  tirst 
year,  and  Dr.  S.  S.  Schmucker  the  second,  and  Drs.  Schmucker  and  Hazelius  jointly 
the  last  two  years. 

+  See  article  History  of  Education,  infra. 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN   THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  263 

The  Tenth  Meeting  was  held  at  Chambersburg,  June,  1839. 
The  Synod  of  Virginia,  which  formerly  constituted  a  part  of  the 
Synod  of  Maryland,  was  admitted  at  this  session. 

At  this  meeting  the  power  and  influence  of  the  General  Synod, 
the  nature  and  authority  of  creeds  and  confessions,  and  the  senti- 
ments of  our  church  on  various  disputed  points,  were  freely  dis- 
cussed, but  no  satisfactory  decision  was  attained. 

The  feeling  seemed  to  prevail  that  it  was  not  the  province  of 
the  Synod  to  establish  any  theological  basis  or  to  propose  any 
test  of  Lutheran  orthodoxy.  It  is  not  the  business  of  the  Synod 
to  inquire  in  reference  to  any  Synod  applying  for  admission, 
whether  it  gives  only  a  qualified  assent  to  the  Augsburg  Confes- 
sion, or  whether  it  subscribes  to  every  sentiment  contained  in  the 
Symbolical  Books. 

These  discussions  were  interesting,  but  unfortunately  they  were 
not  reported. 

Drs.  C.  F.  SchaefTer,  S.  S.  Schmucker  and  B.  Kurtz  v/ere  chosen 
to  open  a  correspondence  with  the  companies  recently  arrived  in 
the  United  States  from  Germany,  under  the  guidance  of  the  no- 
torious Stephan.* 

The  Eleventh  Meeting  convened  in  Baltimore,  May,  1841,  at 
which  the.  Synod  of  the  West  was  represented  for  the  first  time. 
The  arrangements  connected  with  the  centenary  celebration  chiefly 
occupied  attention,  which  will  be  treated  as  a  separate  article. 

The  numerical  strength  of  the  church  was  stated  to  be  about 
four  hundred  ministers  and  one  thousand  churches. 

The  only  college  was  that  at  Gettysburg.  The  Theological 
Seminaries  mentioned  were  Hartwick,  Gettysburg,  Columbus,  0., 
and  Lexington,  S.  C. 

The  Twelfth  Meeting  was  also  held  in  Baltimore,  in  May,  1843. 
Delegates  at  this  meeting  appeared,  for  the  first  time,  from  the 
English  Synod  of  Ohio,  Alleghany  Synod,  Western  Virginia,  and 
Synod  of  East  Pennsylvania  ;  making  twelve  in  connection  with 
the  General  Synod. 

The  cent-a-weeh  plan  for  raising  money  for  missions  was  recom- 
mended to  the  churches,  and  which  was  practiced  by  some  for  a 
a  time,  but  it  did  not  endure  long.  An  agent  was  appointed,  who 
made  considerable  flourish,  and  he  was  affected  with  the  singular 
delusion  that,  if  he  had  the  prefix  of  Professor  to  his  name, 
though  only  nominally,  it  would  give  him  greater  influence.     The 

♦  See  article,  infra. 


264  -     FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

committee  did  not  think  so,  nor  was  there  any  room  or  need  for 
him  in  the  college  Faculty  ;  nor  would  the  trustees,  even  if  asked, 
have  consented  to  gratify  the  desire  of  an  ambitious  young  man. 
He  failed  to  secure  the  coveted  title,  and  the  much  more  valuable 
donations,  also. 

The  importance  of  clerical  education  was  considered,  and  the 
subject  of  the  Liturgy,  which  was  a  standing  theme  for  years, 
received  attention. 

Friendly  relations  were  established  with  the  General  Synod  of 
the  German  Keformed  Church,  and  interchange  of  delegates 
determined. 

The  number  of  ministers  in  the  church  reported  was  four  hun- 
dred and  thirty  ;  congregations,  one  thousand  three  hundred  and 
seventy. 

At  this  convention  was  organized  the  Historical  Society,  the 
object  of  which  is  to  collect  and  preserve  the  literature  of  the 
Church  and  all  documents  pertaining  to  its  history  in  this  country. 

The  Thirteenth  Meeting  assembled  in  Philadelphia,  May,  1845. 
Delegates  from  the  Miami  Synod  were  present  for  the  first  time. 

Eev.  Dr.  B.  J.  Wallace  appeared  as  a  delegate  from  the  General 
Assembly  (new  school)  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  upon  which  a 
plan  of  correspondence  between  our  church  and  that  was  adopted. 
Dr.  Pohlman  was  appointed  our  delegate  to  that  body. 

A  memorial  on  Christian  Union,  by  Rev.  S.  S.  Schmucker,  was 
adopted,  and  a  committee  was  selected  to  take  this  subject  into 
their  special  care. 

The  Committee  on  Foreign  Correspondence  was  instructed  "  to 
prepare  an  address  to  the  various  ecclesiastical  bodies  of  our 
church  in  Euroj)e,  setting  forth  the  condition  of  our  church  in  this 
country,  and  calculated  to  remove  the  false  impressions  which 
have  been  made  there  in  regard  to  our  doctrine  and  practice." 
This  was  designed  to  counteract  the  influence  of  the  representa- 
tions concerning  our  church  which  had  been  made  in  Germany 
the  year  previous  by  Rev.  Mr.  Wyneken,  who  was  a  member  of 
the  General  Synod.  He  was  not  j^resent  when  this  resolution  was 
passed,  but  when  he  ajDjieared  and  heard  of  it  he  offered  the  fol- 
lowing :  "  That  the  writings  of  Rev.  Drs.  Schmucker  and  B.  Kurtz, 
as  well  as  a  volume  of  the  Lutheran  Observer  and  of  the  "  Hir- 
tenstimme,"  (then  edited  by  Rev.  Weyl,  in  Baltimore)  and  other 
books  and  papers  in  which  the  doctrine  and  practice  of  the  Gen- 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  265 

eral  Synod  are  set  forth,  should  be  sent  to  Dr.  Kudelbach,  Prof. 
Harless  and  other  editors  of  prominent  Lutheran  journals  for  ex- 
amination, so  that  the  orthodoxy  of  the  General  Synod  might  be 
demonstrated  to  the  Lutheran  Church  in  Germany." 

Considerable  excitement  was  occasioned  by  this  resolution,  and 
it  was  promptly  laid  ujDon  the  table,  as  Wyneken  anticipated.  He 
immediately  after  offered  the  following  : 

'^Resolved,  That  the  General  Synod  hereby  disavow  and  reject 
the  aforementioned  writings  of  Drs.  Schmucker  and  Kurtz,  as 
well  as  the  Lutheran  Observer  and  Hirtenstimme,  as  heretical 
and  as  departing  from  the  saving  faith." 

This  demand  was  considered  presumptuous,  and  was  not  enter- 
tained for  a  moment. 

The  address  which  was  sent  to  Germany  had  a  very  unhappy 
effect ;  for,  as  it  plainly  expressed  Anti-Lutheran  sentiments,  the 
jDeople  in  that  country  who  were  not  Lutherans  themselves  could 
not  understand  how  men  professing  the  sentiments  of  the  address 
could  still  call  themselves  by  that  name.  I  have  elsewhere  alluded 
to  this  painful  subject. 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  prepare  and  report  at  the  next 
convention  a  clear  and  concise  view  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Lu- 
theran Church  in  America.  They  had  the  subject  under  consid- 
eration five  years,  and  reported  at  Charleston,  1850,  when  the 
report  was  laid  on  the  table  and  the  committee  discharged. 

The  church  at  this  period  numbered  five  hundred  and  forty 
ministers,  and  one  thousand  three  hundred  and  sixty-seven  con- 
gregations, and  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  thousand  commu- 
nicants. 

At  this  meeting  the  Home  Missionary  was  formed,  which  will 
be  treated  in  a  separate  article. 

The  Fourteenth  Meeting  convened  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
May,  1848.  Fifteen  Synods  w^ere  represented.  The  Synods  of 
Illinois,  of  the  South  West,  and  of  Wittenberg,  were  admitted. 
Three  years  had  elapsed  since  the  last  meeting. 

Committees  were  appointed  to  corresj^ond  with  Lutherans  in 
Canada  and  Nova  Scotia,  and  also  with  the  Evangelical  Synods 
of  the  West,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  friendly  relations 
with  them. 

A  committee  was  also  appointed  to  improve  the  small  catechism, 
who,  at  a  subsequent  meeting,  asked  to  be  relieved  from  the  duty. 


266  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Parochial  Schools  were  recommended,  and  the  thanks  of  the 
Synod  were  returned  to  the  Book  Company  in  Baltimore  for  an 
appropriation  of  nearly  nine  hundred  dollars  to  the  Miniders 
Fund. 

At  this  meeting,  a  correspondence  was  entered  into  with"  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church,  and  a  delegate  appointed  to 
attend  their  assembly. 

The  Fifteenth  Meeting  was  held  in  Charleston,  S.  C,  April,  1850. 
The  Olive  Branch  Synod  was  here  admitted. 

At  this  meeting,  the  General  Association  of  the  Congregational 
Churches  in  New  Hampshire  proposed  to  open  a  correspondence 
with  us,  and  to  maintain  an  interchange  of  delegates.  A  delegate 
was  appointed. 

A  committee  was  authorized  to  publish  a  Lutheran  almanac. 
This  almanac  was  published  for  three  successive  years,  when  T. 
N.  Kurtz  issued  it  on  his  own  responsibility.* 

Resolutions  encouraging  Piev.  Dr.  Richards  in  his  proposed 
translation  of  the  Hallische  Nachrichten,  and  the  editors  of  the 
Evangelical  Review,  were  passed. 

Thanks  were  voted  to  Dr.  Bachman  for  his  liberal  gift  of  a  copy 
of  his  work  On  the  Unity  of  tJte  Human  Race. 

The  Sixteenth  Meeting  was  held  in  Winchester,  Va.,  1853. 
There  were  present  one  hundred  and  three  members — fifty-eight 
clerical  and  forty -five  lay — and  fifty-eight  visiting  brethren. 

At  this  meeting,  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania  renewed  its  connec- 
tion with  the  General  Synod  after  an  interval  of  thirty  years.  The 
Pittsburg  Synod,  Texas  Synod  and  the  Synod  of  Northern  Illinois 
were  admitted,  making  twenty  in  all. 

An  application  was  presented  on  the  part  of  the  Synod  of  In- 
dia, but  it  was  not  granted,  because  the  constitution  confines  the 
union  to  District  Synods  within  the  bounds  of  the  United  States. 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  correspond  Avith  the  professors 
of  the  various  Lutheran  Theological  Seminaries  for  the  purpose 
of  ascertaining  the  probable  causes  which  have  indisposed  young 
men  to  prepare  for  the  ministry,  and  what  means  may  be  em- 
ployed for  increasing  the  number  of  theological  students. 

The  Seventeenth  Session  was  held  at  Dayton,  0,,  June,  1855. 
The  Synods  of  Kentucky,  English  District  of  Ohio  and  of  Central 
Pennsylvania  were  admitted.  There  were  no  representatives  from 
North  Carolina,  Synod  of  Southwest  and  of  Texas. 

*  See  article  Almanacs. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  267 

Rev.  Dr.  Allen  appeared  as  delegate  from  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Rev.  Drs.  Fisher  and  Gans,  of  the 
German  Reformed  Church,  could  not  attend.    . 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  submit  a  plan  for  the  organiza- 
tion and  division  of  District  Synods,  and  another  to  prepare  a 
pajoer  on  the  subject  of  the  Licentiate  System  as  it  exists  in  our 
churches,  which  reported  that  it  was  inexpedient,  at  the  present 
time,  to  take  final  action  upon  it. 

The  Liturgy  Committee  ivas  continued,  of  course. 

The  proceedings  of  the  convention  held  at  Germantown,  Pa., 
for  the  organization  of  a  Lutheran  Translation  and  Publication 
Society,  were  presented,  upon  which  a  committee  reported  that  it 
is  inexpedient  to  take  any  action  in  its  favor  until  the  constitu- 
tion allows  an  official  representation  in  its  Executive  Board  on 
the  part  of  the  General  Synod. 

The  establishment  of  a  mission  in  Africa  was  reported  favorably 
upon. 

The  subject  of  church  extension  engaged  a  considerable  share 
of  the  Synod's  attention,  and  the  business  of  the  various  societies 
was,  as  usual,  transacted. 

This  was  the  first  meeting  of  the  Synod  west  of  the  Alleghany 
mountains. 

The  Eighteenth  Session  was  held  in  Reading,  May,  1857.  The 
Svnods  of  Northern  Indiana,  of  Southern  Illinois  and  of  Iowa 
were  admitted.  Present,  one  hundred  and  twenty  members  and 
eighty  visiting  minister.^.  It  was  the  largest  Synod  that  had  met. 
Dr.  Bamberger  represented  the  German  Reformed  and  Dr.  Row- 
land the  Presbyterian  Church,* 

A  letter  of  Christian  Salvation,  from  the  Church  Diet  assem- 
bled at  Liibeck  in  1856,  was  received,  with  a  copy  of  proceedings. 
A  committee  was  appointed  to  represent  the  General  Synod  at 
the  next  meeting  of  the  Diet,  to  be  held  in  Stuttgart  in  1857. 
Krotel,  Stohlman,  Krauth,  Seur,  C.  A.  Morris,  and  Dr.  Luther, 
M.  D.,  were  appointed,  but   they  did  not  go.     The  letter   also 

*  This  gentleman  had  evidently  never  been  among  Germans  before,  and  ex- 
pressed his  gratified  snrprise  that  we  were  so  far  advanced  in  culture.  Although 
he  heard  our  Theological  Seminary  mentioned  frequently  in  the  discussion,  and 
our  professors  were  sitting  before  hini,  yet  ho  recommended  us  to  send  our  stu- 
dents to  Auburn  Seminary :  He  betraj-ed  such  a  deplorable  unacquaintance  with 
the  history  of  the  church,  that  Dr.  Kurtz  publicly  advised  him  to  read  Moshim 
again,  a  book  he  had  i)robably  ne\er  heard  of.  A  mem  her  near  Dr.  Kurtz  whispered 
to  hiiu  :  "  Advise  him  to  read  it  for  the  tiist  time ;  for  it  is  plain  he  knows  nothing 
about  church  history." 


268  FIFTY   YEAES   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

stated  that  an  annual  stipend  had  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
Central  Committee  for  the  support  of  any  young  American,  of  the 
proper  talent  and  attainment,  who  desired  to  attend  the  lectures 
of  some  Theological  Faculty  in  Germany,  with  the  view  of  after- 
wards serving  the  church  in  this  country.  A  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  receive  applications  and  make  selections,  but  I  never 
heard  that  any  students  availed  themselves  of  this  offer. 

Throughout  the  church  there  seemed  to  be  an  increasing  interest 
evinced  in  all  our  literary  and  theological  institutions  as  well  as 
in  our  charitable  societies. 

The  committee  appointed  at  the  last  convention,  to  found  in 
this  country  a  school  for  the  training  of  colored  people  to  be  em- 
ployed as  missionaries  in  Western  Africa  and  to  mature  a  plan 
for  a  mission  in  that  country,  reported  that  no  officer  had  been 
appointed  superintendent  of  the  enterprise.* 

Reports  from  fifteen  of  the  Synods  against  any  change  in  the 
present  Licentiate  System  were  received,  and  the  subject  was 
abandoned. 

The  Nineteenth  Convention  met  at  Pittsburg,  May,  1859.  All 
the  Synods  (26)  were  represented  ;  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven 
delegates  present. 

One  of  the  most  important  questions  considered  was  the  appli- 
cation of  the  Melancthon  Synod,  of  Maryland,  for  admission.  It 
elicited  an  animated  and  protracted  discussion.  The  application 
was  conditionally  granted. 

A  new  constitution  for  the  Pastors'  Fund  was  adopted. 

The  African  Mission  claimed  earnest  attention.  One  officer 
was  present  and  gave  a  history  of  his  labors. 

Delegates  from  the  Presbyterian,  Moravian  and  the  Evangelical 
Church  Union  of  the  West  were  received. 

A  Report  on  Correspondence  with  the  German  Evangelical 
Church  Diet  was  read  by  Dr.  Mann. 

The  business  of  the  various  societies  was  transacted,  the  reports 
of  which  were  generally  encouraging. 

Tlie   Twentieth   Convention  met   at  Lancaster,  Pa.,  May,   1862. 

The  rebel  war  was  raging,  and  there  were  no  delegates  from  the 
Synods  of  Virginia,  Western  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South 
Carolina  and  Texas.  It  was  stated  that  a  communication  had 
been  received  from  the  Texas  delegate,  who  was  in  Europe,  that 
he  was  desirous  the  Synod  should  know  that  "  whatever  traitors 

*  See  African  Mission,  p. ... 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAK    MINISTRY.  2G9 

and  rebels  in  his  State  had  done,  the  Synod  of  Texas  bad  remained 
loyal  to.  the  government  of  the  country." 

The  Synod  of  New  Jersey  was  received. 

A  committee  reported  that  the  standing  resolutions  of  all  the 
sessions  from  1820  had  been  collected  and  properly  arranged. 

At  this  meeting  it  was  resolved  that  advisory  members  should 
not  have  the  liberty  of  speaking  as  heretofore. 

Dr.  Schaff  appeared  as  delegate  from  the  German  Heformed 
Church,  and  Rev.  Kummer  from  the  Moravian  Church. 

RESOLUTIONS  OX  TUE  STATE  OP    THE  COUNTRY. 

At  an  early  session  of  the  Synod  a  committee,  consisting  of  one 
from  each  District  Synod  represented,  was  appointed  to  prepare 
a  minute,  expressive  of  the  views  of  the  body  with  regard  to  our 
duty  as  Christians  and  citizens,  in  the  present  crisis  of  our  beloved 
country.  The  committee,  through  Rev.  Dr.  Passavant,  subse- 
quently submitted  a  report  which,  after  a  spirited  and  deeply 
interesting  discussion,  was  adopted  by  an  overwhelming  majority, 
"We  give  the  resolutions  in  full  for  historical  reference. 

Whereas  our  beloved  country,  after  having  long  been  favored 
with  a  degree  of  jDolitical  and  religious  freedom,  security  and 
prosperity,  unexampled  in  the  history  of  the  world,  now  finds 
itself  involved  in  a  bloody  war  to  suppress  an  armed  rebellion 
against  its  lawfully  constituted  government;  and  whereas,  the 
word  of  God,  which  is  the  sole  rule  of  our  faith  and  practice, 
requires  loyal  subjection  to  "the  powers  that  be,"  because  they 
are  ordained  of  God,  to  be  a  terror  to  evil  doers,  and  a  praise  to 
those  who  do  well,  and  at  the  same  time  declares,  that  they  who 
"resist  the  power"  shall  receive  to  themselves  condemnation; 
and  ivhereas,  we,  the  representatives  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Synods  in  the  United  States,  connected  with  the  General  Synod, 
assembled  in  Lancaster,  Pa.,  recognize  it  as  our  duty  to  give 
public  expression  to  our  convictions  of  truth  on  this  subject,  and 
in  every  ])roper  way  to  co-operate  with  our  fellow-citizens  in 
sustaining  the  great  interests  of  law  and  authority,  of  liberty  and 
righteousness,  be  it  therefore, 

1.  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  deliberate  judgment  of  this  Synod, 
that  the  rebellion  against  the  constitutional  government  of  this 
land  is  most  wicked  in  its  inception,  unjustifiable  in  its  cause, 
unnatural  in  its  character,  inhuman  in  its  prosecution,  oppressive 


270  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

in  its  aims,  and  destructive  in  its  results  to  the  highest  interests 
of  morality  and  religion. 

2.  Resolved,  That,  in  the  suppression  of  this  rebellion  and  in 
the  maintenance  of  the  constitution  and  the  union  by  the  sword, 
we  recognize  an  unavoidable  necessity  and  a  sacred  duty,  which 
the  government  owes  to  the  nation  and  to  the  world,  and  that, 
therefore,  we  call  ujjon  all  our  people  to  lift  up  holy  hands  in 
prayer  to  the  God  of  battles,  without  personal  wrath  against  the 
evil  doers  on  the  one  hand,  and  without  doubting  the  righteous- 
ness of  our  cause  on  the  other,  that  He  would  give  wisdom  to  the 
president  and  his  counsellors,  and  success  to  the  army  and  navy, 
that  our  beloved  land  may  speedily  be  delivered  from  treason  and 
anarchy. 

3.  Resolved,  That  while  we  recognize  this  unhappy  war  as  a 
righteous  judgment  of  God,  visited  upon  us,  because  of  the 
individual  and  national  sins,  of  which  we  have  been  guilty,  we 
nevertheless  regard  this  rebellion  as  more  immediately  the  natural 
result  of  the  continuance  and  spread  of  domestic  slavery  in  our 
land,  and  therefore  hail  with  unmingled  joy  the  proposition  of 
our  Chief  Magistrate,  which  has  received  the  sanction  of  Congress, 
to  extend  aid  from  the  general  government  to  any  State,  in  which 
slavery  exists,  which  shall  deem  fit  to  initiate  a  system  of  consti- 
tutional emancipation. 

4.  Resolved,  That  we  deeply  sympathize  with  all  loyal  citizens 
and  Christian  patriots  in  the  rebellious  portions  of  our  country, 
and  we  cordially  invite  their  co-operation,  in  offering  united 
supplications  at  a  Throne  of  Grace,  that  God  would  restore  peace 
to  our  distracted  country,  re-establish  fraternal  relations  between 
all  the  States,  and  make  our  land,  in  all  time  to  come,  the  asylum 
of  the  oppressed,  and  the  permanent  abode  of  liberty  and  religion. 

5.  Resolved,  That  our  devout  thanks  are  due  to  Almighty  God 
for  the  success  which  has  crowned  our  arms,  and  while  we  praise 
and  magnify  his  name  for  the  help  and  succor  he  has  graciously 
afforded  our  land  and  naval  forces,  in  enabling  them  to  overcome 
our  enemies,  we  regard  these  tokens  of  his  divine  favor  as  cheer- 
ing indications  of  the  final  triumph  of  our  cause." 

The  action  of  the  General  Synod  in  the  frank,  fearless  and 
unqualified  expression  of  its  views  on  the  present  national  struggle, 
and  its  cordial  support  of  the  efforts  now  making  to  suppress  the 
rebellion,  is  a  deliverance,  wise  and  noble,  worthy  of  the  occasion 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  271 

and  of  the  first-born  Chnrcli  of  the  Reformation.  The  loyalty  of 
the  Church,  through  its  representatives,  has  been  expressed  in  the 
most  unequivocal  and  decided  manner.  The  discussion  on  the 
subject  was  able,  conducted  in  a  kind,  serious  and  Christian  spirit, 
and  participated  in  by  Drs.  Passavant,  Harkey,  Sprecher,  Stork, 
Hay,  Hon.  H.  H.  Van  Dyke,  Rev.  W.  G.  Harter,  Prof.  Sternberg, 
Rev.  T.  T.  Titus,  J.  J.  Cochran,  Esq.,  Prof.  Eggers,  Rev.  B.  M. 
Schmucker,  Hon.  C.  Kugler,  Rev.  J.  R.  Focht,  and  others.  Various 
substitutes  and  amendments  were  proposed,  but  they  were  all 
rejected.  There  was  very  little  difference  of  opinion  in  the 
convention  on  the  report  of  the  committee,  except  in  reference  to 
the  adoption  of  the  third  resolution,  opposition  to  which  was 
urged  on  the  ground  of  expediency. 

During  one  of  the  sessions  of  this  meeting,  Dr.  Conrad  came 
into  the  house,  and  in  great  excitement  reported  the  news  of  a 
great  Union  victory ;  immediately  all  other  business  was  suspended, 
and  a  motion  made  to  unite  in  a  service  of  thanksgiving.  They 
did  not  give  Dr.  Kurtz,  the  President,  time  to  put  the  vote,  nor 
an  opportunity  to  express  his  views,  which  I  am  sure  would  have 
been  advice  to  wait  until  the  report  was  confirmed,  for  there  were 
so  many  false  rumors  afloat ;  but  down  upon  their  knees  nearly 
the  whole  body  fell,  and  Dr.  Pohlma-n  led  in  prayer.  It  after- 
wards turned  out  that  the  report  was  premature,  or  at  least  that 
the  victory  Avas  not  so  great  as  stated. 

These  resolutions  gave  great  offence  to  our  Southern  brethren, 
and  they  have  all  along  declared  that  they  will  never  reunite  with 
the  General  Synod  until  the  resolutions  are  expunged,  which 
they  never  will  be. 

The  Twenty- First  Meetincj  was  held  in  York,  May,  1864.  The 
Synods  south  of  Maryland  were  not  represented  except  Kentucky. 
The  Synod  of  Minnesota  and  the  Franckean  were  admitted.  An 
animated  debate  ensued  upon  the  subject  of  the  latter,  but  it  was 
finally  voted  in  upon  the  condition  that  at  its  next  meeting  it  de- 
clare in  an  official  manner  its  adoption  of  the  doctrinal  articles  of 
the  Augsburg  Confession. 

STATE  OP  THE  COUNTRY. 

The  most  intense  interest  was  manifested  in  reference  to  the 
state  of  our  country.  This  was  strengthened  from  the  fact  that 
our   armies   were   then   in  motion    and  engaged  in  a  fierce  and 


272  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

sanguinary  conflict.  The  sons  of  many  of  the  brethren  were  in 
the  field,  and  from  nearly  all  our  churches  there  were  represen- 
tatives, noble  and  patriotic  men,  mingling  in  the  sad  scenes,  ready 
to  make  any  sacrifice,  or  to  meet  death  for  the  maintenance  of  our 
national  life.  At  one  of  the  first  sessions  of  Synod  a  resolution 
was  passed  to  set  apart  one  hour,  the  succeeding  day,  for  humble, 
earnest  prayer  to  Almighty  God,  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  for  the 
forgiveness  of  our  national  sins,  for  his  blessing  upon  our  armies 
and  navy  in  the  opening  campaign,  for  victory  in  the  coming 
struggle,  and  for  the  speedy  suppression  of  the  rebellion  and  the 
restoration  of  peace  to  our  distracted  land.  At  the  devotional 
services  that  were  daily  held  in  the  church,  fervent  supplication 
on  behalf  of  our  country  ascended  to  the  mercy  seat.  All  seemed 
to  realize  the  importance  of  the  contest  and  our  need  of  the  Di- 
vine blessing.  A  committee,  consisting  of  one  from  each  District 
Synod,  was  also  appointed  to  prepare  a  minute  on  the  state  of  the 
country  and  our  duty,  as  Christians,  in  reference  to  it.  The 
committee,  through  Rev.  Dr.  Passavant,  subsequently  presented  a 
report  which  was  unanimously  adopted.  We  record  the  resolutions 
in  full  for  future  reference : 

Besolved,  That  having  assembled  a  second  time,  during  the 
prevalence  of  civil  war  in  -our  land,  this  Synod  cannot  separate 
without  solemnly  re-affirming  the  declarations  adopted  at  our  last 
convention  in  reference  to  the  originating  cause  of  the  rebellion, 
the  necessity  of  its  forcible  suppression,  the  righteousness  of  the 
war  which  is  waged  by  the  government  of  the  United  States  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  national  life,  and  the  consequent  duty  of 
every  Christian  to  support  it  by  the  whole  weight  of  his  influence, 
his  prayers  and  his  efforts. 

Resolved,  That  we  acknowledge,  with  profound  gratitude  to 
Almighty  God,  the  various  and  important  successes  which  have 
thus  far  crowned  our  arms ;  the  merciful  interposition  of  Provi- 
dence in  delivering  us  from  the  invasions  of  the  enemy,  and  in 
protecting  our  homes,  our  churches  and  our  institutions  from  the 
desolations  of  war ;  and  the  cheering  progress  which  has  been 
made  by  the  government  and  the  nation  in  the  recognition  of  the 
laws  of  God  and  the  rights  of  man  in  the  measures  which  have 
been  adopted  for  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion. 

Resolved,  That  recognizing  the  sufterings  and  calamities  of  war 
as  the  righteous  judgments  of  a  just  God,  visited  upon  us  for  our 


FIFTY    YEAKS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  273 

transgressions,  we  call  upon  our  pastors  and  churches  to  unite  with 
us  in  the  confession  of  our  many  and  grievous  individual  and  na- 
tional sins,  and  in  fervent  supplication  for  the  Divine  forgiveness, 
that  as  a  peo^jle  we  may  break  off  sins  by  righteousness,  and  do 
justly,  love  mercy  and  walk  humbly  with  God. 

Resolved,  That  as  persistent  efforts  are  making  among  us,  by 
professedly  Christian  writers,  to  prove  from  the  Holy  Scrij^tures 
the  Divine  institution  of  American  slavery,  the  principal  cause 
of  this  wicked  rebellion,  we,  the  delegates  of  the  General  Synod 
of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  in  the  United  States,  hereby 
express  our  unqualified  condemnation  of  such  a  course,  which 
claims  the  sanction  of  the  merciful  God  and  Father  of  us  all  for 
a  system  of  human  oppression,  which  exists  only  by  violence,  un- 
der the  cover  of  iniquitous  laws. 

RECEPTIOX  OF  TUE  FRANCKE.VN  STXOD. 

Although  the  debate  was  animated  and  earnest,  it  was  in  general 
conducted  in  a  kind,  fraternal  and  christian  spirit.  The  discus- 
sion on  the  subject  was  thorough  and  able,  and  was  participated 
in  by  Drs.  Pohlman,  Baugher,  C.  W.  SchaefFer,  Stork,  Passavant, 
Harkey,  Ziegler,  Harrison,  Sprecher  and  Rev.  Messrs.  Titus,  Wede- 
kind,  Krotel,  Hull,  Welden,  Bassler,  Goodlin,  Wenzel,  Kunkelman, 
Senderling,  Adleberg,  Bolton,  Neumann,  Wieting,  Van  Alstine, 
Dr.  Kemp,  Hon.  C.  Kugler,  J.  J.  Cochran,  Esq.,  and  others. 

It  was  maintained,  on  the  one  side,  that  the  Franckean  Synod 
was  Lutheran  only  in  name,  that  it  had.  a  creed  of  its  own,  sub- 
stituted for  the  Augsburg  Confession,  one  that  was  inconsistent 
with  the  Church's  doctrinal  basis,  and  to  which  the  Campbellites 
and  other  heretical  sects  in  the  West  might  subscribe ;  that  this 
creed  was  evasive  on  points  that  were  fundamental,  that  it  con- 
tained nothing  in  its  character  that  was  distinctly  Lutheran,  and 
that  it  made  no  reference  to  the  Confession  of  the  Church.  It 
was  also  stated,  that  the  Synod  had  deliberately,  at  its  formation, 
ignored  and  set  aside  the  Confession,  and  that  this  action  it  had 
never  yet  repudiated.  Allusion  was  made  to  a  judicial  decision 
given  by  Vice  Chancellor  Sanford  of  the  State  of  New  York,  in 
which  he  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  Franckean  Synod  was 
not  a  Lutheran  body.  It  was  maintained  that  a  most  dangerous 
precedent  would  be  established,  if  Lutheran  Synods  were  allow^ed 
to  form  new  creeds ;  that  the  faith  of  the  Lutheran  Church  was 


274  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

settled,  and  that  the  General  Synod  itself  had  no  power  to  make 
changes  or  introduce  innovations  into  it ;  that  the  Angsburg  Con- 
fession was  essential  to  constitute  us  Lutherans,  and  that,  there- 
fore, the  Franckean  Synod  could  not  constitutionally  he  admitted 
as  an  integral  part  of  the  General  Synod  until  it  received  the 
Confession  as  an  exponent  of  the  fundamental  truths  of  the  Bible, 
as  taught  by  our  Church. 

It  was  argued,  on  the  other  side,  that  the  Franckean  Synod  had 
complied  with  the  requirements  of  the  General  Synod,  that  it  had, 
in  adopting  its  constitution,  adopted  its  doctrinal  basis,  and  that 
if  there  v/as  anything  in  the  creed  which  was  at  variance  with 
the  Confession  it  was  by  their  recent  action  revoked  or  super- 
seded. It  was  asserted  that  a  direct  recognition  of  the  Augsburg 
Confession  was  not  necessary  for  admission  into  the  General  Synod, 
as  its  constitution  does  not  even  mention  the  name  of  the  Confes- 
sion ;  that  the  Franckean  Synod  had  as  virtually  adopted  it  as 
the  General  Synod  itself  had ;  that  the  Synod  was  not  so  much 
in  fault  as  the  Constitution  of  the  General  Synod  was  loose  and 
indefinite.  Their  doctrinal  views,  it  was  said,  should  be  compared 
with  the  Augsburg  Confession ;  if  they  differ  from  it  the  Synod 
should  not  be  received;  if  they  do  not,  there  could  be  no  objec- 
tion to  their  reception.  The  Synod,  it  v/as  believed,  did  teach 
the  fundamental  doctrines  of  the  Bible  as  they  are  taught  by  our 
Church,  and  its  representatives,  making  aj)plication  for  admission, 
were  sound  in  faith.  It  was  argued  that  the  principle  which 
would  exclude  the  Franckean  Synod  would  cut  off  many  of  the 
District  Synods  which  do  not  in  their  constitutions  formally  re- 
cognize the  Augsburg  Confession.  Reference  was  also  made  to 
the  origin  and  early  history  of  the  General  Synod,  to  the  views  of 
the  men  who  framed  the  constitution,  and  to  the  circumstances 
under  which  the  New  York  Ministerium,  the  Hartwick  and  other 
Synods  were  received  into  the  General  Synod.  The  legal  decision- 
against  the  Lutheran  character  of  the  Franckean  Synod,  it  was 
said,  was  entitled  to  no  weight,  inasmuch  as  Vice  Chancel- 
lor Sanford  was  not  a  Lutheran,  and  no  theologian,  and  that  in 
the  State,  of  Ohio  in  one  of  the  courts  a  legal  opinion  of  an  oppo- 
site bearing  had  been  given,  and  that  the  civil  authorities  were 
not  competent  to  determine  questions  that  related  to  the  Church. 
It  was  also  stated  that  the  Synod  used  the  General  Synod's  Hymn 
Book ;  contributed  its  funds  to  the  support  of  our  Foreign  Mis- 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  275 

sions  and  otlier  benevolent  operations  of  the  Churcli ;  educated 
its  students  at  Ilartwick  Seminary  ;  that  it  was  represented  in  its 
Board  of  Trustees  and  Visitors,  and  interchanged  delegates  with 
the  New  York  Ministerium  and  the  Hartwick  Synod.  The  dele- 
gates declared  that  they  had  presented  themselves  for  admission 
with  honest  hearts,  with  an  earnest  desire  to  co-operate  with  their 
Lutheran  brethren  ;  that  they  desired  to  become  a  component 
part  of  the  General  Synod,  that  their  usefulness  as  a  Synod  might 
be  increased;  that  they  were  under  the  impression  when  their 
Synod  adopted  the  Constitution  of  the  General  Synod  they  also 
adopted  the  Augsburg  Confession  as  received  by  the  General 
Synod. 

All  in  the  convention  seemed  anxious  to  admit  the  Synod  if  it 
could  be  done  consistently  with  duty.  The  only  difference  was 
that  some  of  the  brethren  desired  to  postpone  the  application  un- 
til there  was,  in  the  constitution  of  the  Synod,  a  distinct  recogni- 
tion of  the  Augsburg  Confession,  whilst  others  were  willing,  as 
the  delegates  were  on  the  ground  and  supposed  that  they  had 
complied  with  the  conditions  required,  to  receive  it  at  once  on 
the  faith  of  the  promise  made,  and  with  the  express  understanding 
that  at  the  next  liieeting  of  the  Synod,  whatever  informality  there 
might  have  been  in  their  proceedings,  all  room  for  doubt  would 
be  removed. 

The  Synod  at  first  unanimously  resolved  that  the  Franckean 
Synod  be  admitted  as  an  integral  portion  of  the  General  Synod 
so  soon  as  they  shall  give  formal  expression  to  their  adoption  of 
the  Augsburg  Confession  as  received  by  the  General  Synod.  This 
action  was,  however,  the  next  day,  reconsidered,  and  the  whole 
subject  finally  disposed  of  by  the  adoption  of  the  following  res- 
olution : 

Resolved,  That  the  Franckean  Synod  be  received  into  connec- 
tion with  the  General  Synod,  with  the  understanding  that,  at  its 
next  meeting,  it  declare  in  an  official  manner  its  adoption  of  the 
doctrinal  articles  of  the  Augsburg  Confession  as  a  substantially 
correct  exhibition  of  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  the  Word  of 
God. 

Against  this  action  of  the  General  Synod  Rev.  Dr.  C.  W.  Schaef- 
fer  and  others  felt  it  their  duty  to  enter  their  earnest  and  respectful 
protest,  disclaiming,  at  the  same  time,  any  disposition  to  impugn 
the  motives  of  those  who  favored  the  application,  and  expressing 


276  FIFTY   YEAES    IN    THE    LUTHEEAN    MINISTEY. 

high  personal  regard  for  the  brethren  of  the  Franckean  Synod. 
The  position  assumed  by  the  Protestants  was :  1.  That  the  General 
Synod  provides  for  the  admission  of  regularly  constituted  Synods, 
that  a  regularly  constituted  Synod  is  one  that  "  holds  the  funda- 
mental doctrines  of  the  Bible,  as  taught  by  our  Church,"  and  that 
by  universal  consent  these  doctrines  so  taught  are  expressed  in 
the  i\.ugsburg  Confession  ;  that  the  whole  history  of  the  Franc- 
kean Synod  presents  it  as  having  no  relation  or  connection  what- 
ever with  the  Augsburg  Confession,  and  that  in  its  official  docu- 
ments there  is  no  evidence  that  it  has  ever  accepted  the  Confession. 
2.  That  the  General  Synod  is  forbidden  by  its  constitution  "  to 
introduce  such  alterations  in  matters  appertaining  to  the  faith  as 
might  in  any  way  tend  to  burden  the  consciences  of  the  brethren 
in  Christ,"  and  that  they  felt  their  consciences  burdened  by  hold- 
ing Synodical  relations  with  a  body  that  had  set  up  a  new  doc- 
trinal standard.  3.  That  the  General  Synod,  in  the  spirit  of  its 
constitution,  requires  and  prescribes  certain  conditions  as  prere- 
quisites to  the  admission  of  any  Synod  ;  that  the  Franckean 
Synod  was  admitted  without  a  compliance  with  these  conditions, 
and  in  doing  so  the  constitution  had  been  violated,  and  a  pre- 
cedent established  which  would  be  followed  by  the  most  lamenta- 
ble results." 

Dr.  SchaefFer  also  j^resented  a  paper  signed  by  the  delegates  of 
the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania,  announcing  that  inasmuch  as  the 
Pennsylvania  Synod  at  the  time  of  its  re-union  with  the  General 
Synod  had  resolved  that,  if  the  General  Synod  should  violate  its 
constitution  and  require  assent  to  anything  in  conflict  with  the  old 
and  long  established  faith  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church, 
their  delegates  be  required  to  j^rotest  against  such  action,  to  with- 
draw from  its  sessions  and  to  report  to  Synod,  and  as  they  re- 
garded the  admission  of  the  Franckean  Synod  as  a  direct  violation 
of  the  Constitution  of  the  General  Synod,  they  were  compelled  to 
retire  and  to  report  to  the  body  they  represented. 

These  papers  were  both  entered  upon  the  Minutes  as  well  as  the 
answer  to  the  protest,  prepared  by  a  committee  consisting  of  Rev. 
Drs.  Baugher  and  Harrison,  and  Dr.  KemjT,  who  subsequently 
reported,  "  that  whilst  they  admitted  that  the  Franckean  Synod 
had  not  formally  adopted  the  Augsburg  Confession,  yet  they  had 
formally  adopted  the  Constitution  of  the  General  Synod,  and  their 
delegates  had  declared  verbally,  and  in  the  most  solemn  manner 


FIFTY   YEAHS    IN   THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  277 

in  a  written  record,  that  tliej  believed  that,  in  adopting  the 
Constitution  of  the  General  Synod,  they  were  adopting  the 
doctrinal  basis  required,  which  is  the  Augsburg  Confession ;  what 
these  brethren  affirm  they  believed  they  were  really  doing  they 
hesitate  not  to  declare  their  Synod  will  do  formally  at  its  next 
regular  session ;  and  that  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  ends  of 
truth  and  righteousness,  and  to  satisfy  the  minds  of  the  doubting 
and  fearful,  the  resolution  of  the  General  Synod  requires  them  to 
adopt  in  a  formal  manner  the  doctrinal  basis  of  the  Lutheran 
Church,  viz.,  the  Augsburg  Confession,  as  containing  the  funda- 
mental doctrines  of  the  Word  of  God,  or  forfeit  their  connection 
with  this  body.  The  committee  think  (1)  that,  whilst  confidence 
in  the  affirmed  convictions  of  the  Franckean  Synod  is  conceded, 
the  General  Synod  is  secured  against  the  introduction  of  a  Synod 
into  its  body  that  is  not  Lutheran ;  (2)  that  the  General  Synod 
has  not  willingly  or  consciously  violated  the  constitution,  or  set 
up  a  new  doctrinal  standard  for  the  admission  of  new  Synods  ; 
(3)  that  the  Franckean  Synod  had  really,  although  not  formally, 
complied  with  the  conditions  required  by  the  constitution. 
Inasmuch  a.s  the  Constitution  of  the  General  Synod  is  indefinite, 
and  a  difference  of  opinion  on  the  subject  exists  among  the  mem- 
bers of  Synod,  it  was  deemed  best  to  yield  the  point,  as  had  been 
done  in  the  reception  of  other  Synods,  until  the  formal  action 
required  could  be  had,  with  the  view  of  satisfying  the  consciences 
of  some  of  the  brethren,  and  more  certainly  harmonizing  the 
whole  Synod." 

The  withdrawal  of  the  Pennsylvania  Synod's  delegates  was 
greatly  regretted,  but  there  seemed  to  be  no  alternative,  inasmuch 
as,  in  their  judgment,  the  constitution  had  been  violated  and  the 
instructions  of  the  Synod  on  this  subject  were  so  explicit.  We 
indulge  the  hope,  however,  that  it  is  only  a  temporary  separation, 
and  that  the  discussion  on  this  question  and  the  subsequent  action 
of  the  General  Synod  will  have  a  tendency  to  bind  together  more 
firmly  the  whole  Church,  and  deepen  its  affection  for  the  venerable 
Confession. 

The  Ttvcnty- Second  Meeting  was  held  at  Fort  Wayne,  Ind., 
May,  1866. 

At  this  meeting  the  connection  of  the  Pennsylvania  Synod  with 
the  General  Synod  was  practically  dissolved,  before  this  conven- 

18 


278  FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

tion  was  duly  organized,  by  the  following  ruling  of  Dr.  Sprecher, 
the  President  of  the  preceding  meeting  : 

DECISION  OF   CHAIK  CONCERNING  PENNSYLVANIA  SYNOD. 

When  the  first  eleven  Synods  had  responded,  the  President  de- 
cided as  follows  in  reference  to  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania  : 

The  Chair  regards  the  act  of  the  delegates  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Synod,  by  which  they  severed  their  practical  relations  with  the 
General  Synod  and  withdrew  from  the  partnership  of  the  Synods 
in  the  governing  functions  of  the  General  Synod,  as  the  act  of  the 
Synod  of  Pennsylvania,  and  that  consequently  that  Synod  was 
out  of  practical  union  with  the  General  Synod  up  to  the  adjourn- 
ment of  the  last  convention;  and,  as  we  cannot  know  officially 
what  the  action  of  that  Synod  has  been  since,  she  must  be  con- 
sidered as  in  that  state  of  practical  withdrawal  from  the  governing 
functions  of  the  General  Synod  until  the  General  Synod  can 
receive  a  report  of  an  act  restoring  her  practical  relations  to  the 
General  Synod  ;  and,  as  no  such  report  can  be  received  until  said 
Synod  is  organized,  the  Chair  cannot  know  any  paper  offered  at 
this  stage  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Synod  as  a  certificate  of 
delegation  to  this  body. 

CONCEllNING   FRANCKEAN   SYNOD. 

When  the  name  of  the  Franckean  Synod  was  read,  the  Presi- 
dent decided  that,  not  having  any  official  knowledge  whether  the 
said  Synod  has  complied  with  the  conditions  prescribed  in  the 
resolutions  receiving  that  Synod,  two  years  ago,  into  connection 
with  the  General  Synod,  the  delegates  from  the  Frenckean  Synod 
cannot,  for  the  present,  be  received. 

THE   CHAIR   SUSTAINED   ON   APPEAL. 

An  appeal  being  made  from  the  decision  of  the  Chair  in  regard 
to  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania,  that  decision  was  sustained.  A 
division  of  the  house  was  called  for,  when  the  vote  resulted  in 
seventy-seven  ayes  to  twenty-four  nays. 

CASE   OF  THE  PENNSYLVANIA   SYNOD. 

The  regular  order  of  business  was  suspended  to  consider  the 
reception  of  the  credentials  of  the  Pennsylvania  Synod's  del- 
egation. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  279 

REFERRED  TO   A  SPECIAL  COMMITTEE. 

On  motion,  the  following  was  adopted : 

Resolved,  That  the  case  of  the  Pennsylvania  Synod,  presented 
before  the  complete  organization  of  this  body,  be  now  referred  to 
a  special  committee  of  seven,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  report  on 
the  subject  at  nine  o'clock  to-morrow  morning. 

DELEGATES  REQUESTED  TO  UErOUT. 

On  motion,  it  was 

Hesolved,  That  the  delegates  of  the  Pennsylvania  Synod  be  now 
respectfully  requested  to  report  to  this  Synod  by  handing  in  their 
credentials  and  a  copy  of  the  minutes  for  each  of  their  last  two 
meetings,  and  that  their  documents  be  referred  to  the  committee 
appointed  to  report  on  their  case. 

After  several  days'  discussion,  the  following  amended  preamble 
and  resolutions  were  adopted  in  place  of  what  the  committee  had 
previously  reported : 

Your  committee  respectfully  report,  that  in  accordance  with  the 
public  notice  given  in  the  church,  they  assembled  at  the  specified 
time  and  place,  to  take  into  consideration  the  case  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Synod,  and  any  credentials  or  documents  which  the  dele- 
gates of  said  Synod  might,  in  accordance  with  the  public  invita- 
tion given  by  the  President  of  the  General  Synod,  see  fit  to  present. 
Your  committee  regret  to  report  that  no  credentials  or  other 
documents  were  communicated  to  them,  and  their  only  recourse 
was  to  the  minutes  of  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania  during  the  two 
years  since  the  session  of  the  last  General  Synod.  After  mature 
consideration  of  the  case,  your  committee  resolved  ^rs<,  to  present 
to  the  Synod  a  statement  of  the  facts  in  the  case,  as  apparent  from 
the  minutes  of  the  Pennsylvania  Synod  referred  to,  and  from  ear- 
lier minutes ;  and,  secondly/,  on  the  basis  of  these  facts  to  submit 
several  resolutions. 

It  appears,  then,  that  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania  was  one  of 
the  original  Synods  which  formed  the  constitution  of  this  body, 
in  1820,  at  Hagerstown  ;  that  they  attended  one  meeting  of  the 
General  Synod,  in  1821,  and  in  the  spring  of  1823  withdrew  from 
this  body,  and  resolved  not  to  have  any  connection  with  it  again 
until  requested  to  do  so  by  their  congregations ;  that  for  thirty 
years  thereafter  they  had  no  connection  whatever  with  this  body ; 


280  FIFTY   YEAKS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

that  when,  in  1853,  they  re-entered  into  connection  with  it,  they 
proposed  only  a  qualified  connection,  specifying  a  contingency,  on 
the  occurrence  of  which  their  delegates  were  instructed,  by  a 
standing  resolution,  to  withdraw  from  the 'sessions  of  this  body 
and  report  to  their  Synod ;  that  the  admission  of  the  Franckean 
Synod,  in  1864,  was,  in  the  judgment  of  their  delegates,  such  a 
case,  and  they  therefore  protesfed  against  said  action,  withdrew 
from  the  sessions  of  the  General  Synod,  and  reported  to  their 
Synod  ;  that  their  Synod,  after  full  discussion,  approved  the  action 
of  their  delegates  by  a  unanimous  vote ;  that  at  their  meeting,  in 
1864,  they  resolved  "  that  the  consideration  of  the  future  relation 
of  this  Synod  to  the  General  Synod  be  postponed  until  the  time 
for  the  election  of  delegates  to  that  body  shall  again  recur;"  that 
at  the  meeting  of  1865  they  elected  delegates  to  this  body,  with 
the  declaration  that  the  "  Synod  desires  it  to  he  distinctly  under- 
stood that  it  has  not  ceased  to  approve  of  the  protest  and  withdrawal 
of  its  last  delegation  at  the  meeting  at  York,"  and  also  resolved 
that  the  Synod  now,  as  ever,  reserves  to  itself  the  right  asserted  in 
the  resolutions  adopted  at  the  time  of  the  election  of  its  delegation  to 
the  General  Synod  in  1853,  and  which  prompted  the  action  of  our 
delegation  at  the  convention  at  York"  in  1864;  that  the  delega- 
tion thus  elecled  made  their  appearance  at  this  meeting,  and  ten 
dered  their  credentials  during  and  after  calling  the  roll  of  Synods, 
before  the  election  of  officers  and  organization  of  the  Synod,  when 
the  President  gave  this  decision  :  "  The  Chair  regards  the  act  of 
delegates  of  the  Pennsylvania  Synod,  by  which  they  severed  their 
practical  relations  with  the  General  Synod  and  withdrew  from  the 
partnership  of  the  Synods  in  the  governing  functions  of  the  Gen- 
eral Synod,  as  the  act  of  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania,  and  that 
consequently  that  Synod  was  out  of  practical  union  with  the 
General  Synod  up  to  the  adjournment  of  the  last  convention  ;  and, 
as  we  cannot  know  officially  what  the  action  of  that  Synod  has 
been  since,  she  must  be  considered  as  in  that  state  of  practical 
■withdrawal  from  the  governing  functions  of  the  General  Synod 
until  the  General  Synod  can  receive  a  report  of  an  act  restoring 
her  practical  relations  to  the  General  Synod  ;  and,  as  no  such 
report  can  be  received  until  said  Synod  is  organized,  the  Chair 
cannot  know  any  paper  offered  at  this  stage  of  the  proceedings  of 
the  Synod  as  a  cei'tificate  of  delegation  to  this  body;"  and,  this 
decision  being  sustained  by  a  vote  of  the  house,  their  case  was 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  281 

not  taken  up  until  after  the  organization,  when  they  were  called 
on  to  present  their  credentials,  but  declined  to  do  so  ;  that  your 
committee  was  then  appointed,  to  whom  the  matter  was  referred 
to  report  on. 

Having  thus  detailed  the  facts,  your  committee  present  the  fol- 
lowing resolutions  : 

[Here  follow  the  resolutions  adopted,  and  as  in  part  only  those 
of  the  committee.] 

1.  Resolved,  That  this  Synod  regard  the  condition  annexed  by 
the  Pennsylvania  Synod  to  the  appointment  of  the  delegates  as 
contrary  to  that  equality  among  the  Synods  composing  this  body 
provided  for  by  the  Constitution  of  this  Synod. 

2.  Resolved,  That  whatever  motives  of  christian  forbearance 
may  have  induced  this  Synod  to  receive  the  Pennsylvania  dele- 
gates in  1853,  with  this  condition,  the  unfavorable  influences  since 
exerted  by  it  render  it  very  desirable  that  said  condition  be  re- 
scinded by  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania. 

3.  Resolved,  That  the  General  Synod  hereby  expresses  its  entire 
willingness  to  receive  the  delegates  of  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania. 

After  thus  disposing  of  the  foregoing,  it  was  on  motion — 

Resolved,  That  the  delegates  from  the  Pennsylvania  Synod  be 
requested  to  waive  what  may  seem  to  them  an  irregular  organi- 
zation of  this  body,  and  to  acquiesce  in  the  present  organization. 

It  was,  furthermore — 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  be  requested  to  present,  in  writing, 
to  the  delegates  of  the  Pennsylvania  Synod,  the  action  just  passed 
in  reference  to  that  body. 

FRANCKEAN   SYNOD'S   DELEGATION   RECEIVED. 

In  relation  to  the  Franckean  Synod,  it  was  then — 

Resolved,  That,  inasmuch  as  the  Franckean  Synod  has  complied 
with  the  condition  of  admission  laid  down  by  the  last  General 
Synod,  its  delegation  be  received. 

In  response  to  a  suggestion  made  by  a  member,  in  view  of  the 
favorable  disposal  of  the  subject  before  the  Synod  during  the  last 
three  days,  the  whole  body  rose  and  engaged  in  heartily  singing 
the  doxology. 

When  these  resolutions  were  adopted,  the  delegates  of  the  Synod 
of  Pennsylvania  retired,  and  that  body  has  ever  since  remained 
distinct  from  the  General  Synod. 


282  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

RESOLUTIONS   ON   THE   STATE   OF   THE   COCNTUY. 

The  following  resolutions  on  the  state  of  the  country  were 
offered,  and  unanimously  adopted  by  a  rising  vote  : 

Whereas  the  last  two  sessions  of  the  General  Synod  of  the 
Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  of  the  United  States,  convened,  re- 
spectively, in  the  years  1862  and  1864,  at  Lancaster  and  York,  in 
the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  were  both  held  during  the  prevalence 
of  a  calamitous  civil  war  ;  and 

Whereas,  at  both  of  said  sessions  the  General  Synod,  besides 
carefully  enunciating  its  views  in  reference  to  the  origin  of  said 
war  and  the  great  issues  at  stake,  also  offered  fervent  prayers  to 
Almighty  God  for  the  speedy  return  of  a  peace  based  on  the  prin- 
ciples of  his  own  truth  and  righteousness  ;  be  it,  therefore, 

1.  Resolved,  That  we  do  hereby,  as  a  General  Synod,  greatly 
rejoice  that  our  present  sessions  are  being  held  under  circum- 
stances, and  amidst  surroundings,  which  are  in  so  grateful  and 
happy  contrast  with  those  which  at  our  two  former  sessions  filled 
our  hearts  with  so  much  anxiety  and  grief. 

2.  Resolved,  That,  not  abating  a  jot  or  tittle  of  the  declaration 
of  principles  then  solemnly  put  forth,  we  do  now  join  in  ascrip- 
tions of  praise,  and  power,  and  glory  unto  Him  who  is  the  Author 
of  all  our  mercies,  and  the  Source  of  all  our  blessings  ;  that  He 
has  caused  the  desolations  of  war  to  cease  in  our  laud,  and  that 
peace  once  more  sheds  its  benign  influence  over  every  part  of  our 
national  domain. 

3.  Resolved,  That  in  these  our  thanksgivings  we  include,  as 
among  the  most  obvious  occasions  of  them,  the  final  victory  which 
he  was  graciously  pleased  to  vouchsafe  to  our  gallant  army  and 
navy  ;  the  preservation  of  our  government  and  its  associated  in- 
stitutions from  meditated  forcible  overthrow,  and  the  removal 
from  amongst  us  of  the  curse  of  slavery,  in  whose  interest,  and 
for  whose  extension,  the  war  was  inaugurated  and  prosecuted. 

4.  Resolved,  That  the  widows  and  orphans  which  the  rebellion 
has  made  are  the  legacy  of  the  nation,  and  that  it  behooves  the 
church  to  unite  with  the  States  and  the  General  Government  in 
extending  to  them  all  possible  sympathy,  succor  and  support. 

5.  Resolved,  That  to  the  millions  of  bondmen,  who  by  the 
vicissitudes  of  war  have  been  so  suddenly  and  strangely  trans- 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  283 

lated  into  a  state  of  freedom,  the  country  owes  its  most  benefi- 
cent and  paternal  guardianship  ;  that  they  suffer  no  detriment 
from  neglect  or  abuse,  but  be  strengthened,  comforted  and  assisted, 
in  which  great  duty  the  Church  of  Christ  cannot  and  must  not  be 
found  tardy  or  delinquent. 

6.  Resolved,  That  we  share  in  the  enlightened  and  spontaneous 
sentiment  of  the  people  of  this  land,  in  expressions  of  profound- 
est  sorrow,  because  of  the  violent  death  of  President  Lincoln,  whose 
memory  as  a  patriot,  a  statesman  and  the  highest  type  of  a  phil- 
anthropist we  cherish  and  revere,  and  whose  services  to  our  nation 
and  to  the  cause  of  the  suffering  and  the  oppressed  we  shall  hold 
in  grateful  and  affectionate  remembrance. 

PENNSYLVANIA   SYNOD'S   DELEGATION   TO   BE   HEARD. 

Hesolved,  That  the  delegation  of  the  Pennsylvania  Synod  be 
heard  to-morrow  morning,  at  9  o'clock. 

RESPONSE   OP  PENNSYLVANIA  SYNOD's  DELEGATION  READ. 

A  communication  from  the  delegates  of  the  Synod  of  Pennsyl- 
vania was  read  by  Rev.  G.  F.  Krotel,  D.  D,,  one  of  their  number. 
When  the  reading  was  concluded,  it  was — 
Hesolved,  That  this  paper  be  received. 

FINAL  PROPOSITIONS  OF  THE  RESPONSE. 

[A  subsequent  resolution  of  the  Synod  directs  that  the  "  final 
propositions "  contained  in  this  response  be  published  in  the 
minutes.  They  are  therefore  presented  at  this  point  as  the  proper 
place.] 

The  response  was  closed  with  the  only  terms  on  which  its  authors 
were  willing  to  co-operate  in  the  General  Synod,  viz.: 

"  Provided  : 

"  That  this  body  shall  now  declare  that  the  Synod  of  Pennsyl- 
vania had,  as  it  claimed  to  have,  the  constitutional  right  to  be 
represented  before  the  election  of  officers,  and  to  take  part  in  it, 
and  might  now  justly  claim  the  right  of  casting  its  vote. 

"  If  the  convention  shall  so  declare,  we  are  perfectly  willing  to 


284  FIFTY   YEAKS    IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY. 

waive  the  right  of  voting,  will  acquiesce  in  the  present  organiza- 
tion, and  will  take  our  seats  in  this  body,  equals  among  equals. 
"  Respectfully  submitted, 
(Signed,)  Joseph  A.  Seiss,  Ch.  of  Dtl. 

Charles  P.  Krauth, 
G.  F.  Krotel, 

C.   W.    SCHAEFFEB, 

S.  K.  Brobst, 
Samuel  Laird, 
Louis  L.  Houpt, 
Henry  Lehman, 
C.  F.  Norton, 
Charles  A.  Heinitsh. 

FURTHER  ACTION  IN  PENNSYLVANIA  SYNOD'S  CASE  PROPOSED. 

Resolutions  were  offered  for  further  action  relative  to  the  case 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Synod.  Before  concluding  the  subject  the 
morning  hour  expired.  The  afternoon  being  set  apart  for  various 
societies,  the  Synod  adjourned  until  to-morrow  morning. 

FINAL  ACTION  REGARDING  THE  SYNOD  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

It  was  determined  to  suspend  the  regular  order,  and  take  up 
the  unfinished  business  of  yesterday,  being  the  resolutions  in 
regard  to  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania. 

The  following  resolution  was  offered  as  a  substitute  for  the  first 
of  the  series  : 

ULTIMATE  RESOLUTION. 

Resolved,  That,  after  hearing  the  response  of  the  delegates  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Synod,  we  cannot  conscientiously  recede  from 
the  action  adopted  by  this  body,  believing,  after  full  and  careful 
deliberation,  said  action  to  have  been  regular  and  constitutional ; 
but  that  we  reaffirm  our  readiness  to  receive  the  delegates  of  said 
Synod  as  soon  as  they  present  their  credentials  in  due  form. 

MOTION   TO  RECONSIDER  MADE  AND   TABLED. 

It  was  moved  to  reconsider  the  vote,  and  the  motion  was  laid 
on  the  table. 

Rev.  Dr.  J.  A.  Seiss,  having  asked  permission,  made  a  statement 
on  behalf  of  the  delegation  of  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania,  of 
which  he  was  chairman.  He  was  requested  to  present  the  same 
in  writing,  to  be  entered  on  the  record  of  the  General  Synod. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHEKAN    MINISTRY.  285 

The  President  of  the  General  Synod  made  a  reply,  which  he 
also,  according  to  request,  reduced  to  writing,  to  accompany  the 
statement. 

STATEMENT   OP   DR.   SEISS. 

The  delegates  of  the  Pennsylvania  Synod  state  to  this  conven- 
tion that  in  retiring,  as  they  now  do,  they  distinctly  declare  that 
this  their  act  in  no  sense  or  degree  effects  the  relations  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Synod  to  the  General  Synod  of  the  Evangelical 
Lutheran  Church  in  the  United  States. 

REPLY   OP   THE   PRESIDENT. 

This  body  has  not  decided  at  any  time  that  the  Pennsylvania 
Synod  was  out  of  the  General  Synod.  But  having  by  its  delega- 
tion openly  withdrawn  from  the  sessions  of  the  General  Synod,  at 
York,  Pa.,  the  former  President  ruled  that  the  practical  relation 
of  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania  to  the  General  Synod  was  such  that 
no  report  could  be  heard  from  that  Synod  until  the  General  Synod 
was  organized.  This  ruling  of  the  President  was  sustained  by  a 
very  large  majority,  after  an  appeal  had  been  taken.  Immedi- 
ately after  its  organization,  the  General  Synod  invited  the  dele- 
gates of  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania  to  present  their  credentials 
and  report ;  and  has  evinced  its  readiness  at  every  stage  to  grant 
to  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania  every  lawful  privilege  and  every 
right.  The  General  Synod  hereby  extend  to  the  delegation  from 
the  Synod,  of  Pennsylvania  the  assurance  of  its  kindest  regard. 

PROTEST  PRESENTED. 

Eev.  Dr.  Passavant  read  a  protest  against  the  action  of  the 
Synod  in  the  case  of  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania. 


The  undersigned  delegates  of  various  Synods,  connected  with 
the  General  Synod,  having  cast  their  votes  against  the  final  action 
of  this  body,  as  regards  the  Pennsylvania  Synod,  respectfully  ask 
leave  to  place  on  record  the  reasons  which  led  them  thus  to  vote, 
and  at  the  same  time,  they  solemnly,  and  in  the  fear  of  God, 
protest  against  this  action,  as,  in  their  judgment,  irregular,  and 
contrary  both  to  the  constitution  of  the  Synod  and  the  law  of 
equity  as  revealed  in  the  word  of  God. 


^86  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

And,  First,  we  protest  against  the  decision  of  the  retiring 
President,  afterwards  sustained  by  a  naajority  of  the  delegates,  by 
which  the  Pennsylvania  Synod  was  declared  as  not  being  "  in 
practical  relations"  to  the  General  Synod,  and  consequently  not 
entitled  to  any  part  in  its  organization,  as  an  unwarranted 
assumption  of  power,  because — 

1.  The  name  of  the  Pennsylvania  Synod  was  on  the  official  roll 
of  Synods  which  had  been  furnished  this  body  by  the  retiring 
Secretary,  and  after  the  withdrawal  of  the  Pennsylvania  delegates 
from  the  convention  in  York,  the  Synod  itself  is  expressly  recog- 
nized in  an  official  paper  as  an  integral  part  of  the  General  Synod. 
In  our  judgment,  therefore,  the  presiding  officer  was  in  duty  bound 
to  receive  the  credentials  of  the  Pennsylvania  Synod  at  the  proper 
time. 

2.  Because  the  constitution  and  by-laws  give  him  no  power 
whatever  to  exclude  Synods,  or  even  to  decide  as  to  their  relations 
to  the  General  Synod,  but  merely  make  it  his  duty  "to  decide  on 
the  validity  of  the  credentials  of  delegates." 

3.  The  reason  given  by  the  Chair,  and  sustained  by  the  majority, 
for  such  refusal  to  call  the  names  of  all  the  Synods  on  the  official 
roll,  that  the  Pennsylvania  Synod,  by  the  withdrawal  of  its 
delegation  from  the  convention  in  York,  placed  itself  out  of 
governing  relations  to  the  General  Synod — is  not  a  valid  one — as 
such  withdrawal  from  the  sessions  ivas  merely  the  exercise  of  a  right 
which  was  freely  conceded  hy  the  General  Synod  to  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Synod  at  the  time  of  its  reception  in  Winchester,  and  which 
was  never  objected  to,  either  before  or  on  the  occasion  of  its  exercise. 
The  retirement  of  the  Pennsylvania  delegation  from  the  further 
sessions  of  the  Synod  in  York  could  not,  therefore,  affect  the 
relations  of  the  Synod  to  the  General  Synod — the  sole  object  of 
this  act  being,  as  officially  expressed,  "  in  order  to  report  to  their 
own  Synod  at  its  ap2:)roaching  convention." 

4.  Even  if  the  Pennsylvania  Synod  afterwards,  by  a  formal  act 
of  separation,  had  sundered  its  connection  with  the  General  Synod, 
the  President  could  not,  by  his  own  ruling,  know  this  and  act 
upon  it  until  officially  notified  of  such  separation. 

5.  If  such  a  principle  is  established,  it  is  placed  in  the  power 
of  any  future  retiring  President  to  rule  "out  of  practical  rela- 
tions" any  Synod  or  number  of  Synods  he  may  deem  proper  thus 
to  designate,  and  a  majority  of  the  remaining  delegates,  by  sus- 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  287 

taining  him,  may  keep  out  sucli  Synod  or  Synods  until  the  con- 
vention is  organized,  and  so  long  thereafter  as  they  may  deem  ad- 
visable ;  or  may  even  refuse  to  give  them  the  rights  which  belong 
to  all  the  constituent  parts  of  this  Synod,  except  on  conditions 
which  it  was  known  beforehand  could  never  be  consented  to  with- 
out the  setting  aside  of  solemn  compacts  between  brethren,  or  the 
sacrifice  of  christian  principle. 

And,  Secondly,  we  solemnly  protest  against  the  final  action  o^ 
this  body  in  the  case  of  the  Pennsylvania  Synod,  because,  that 
notwithstanding  the  most  satisfactory  evidence  officially  commu- 
nicated on  the  floor  of  this  house,  that  the  Pennsylvania  Synod 
was,  at  the  time  of  the  organization,  and  continue  to  be,  an  inte- 
gral part  of  this  body,  its  original  relations  unchanged,  and  all 
its  guaranteed  rights  intact,  it  has  now  finally  been  resolved  that 
the  previous  action  of  this  convention  in  disfranching  it,  is  "  both 
regular  and  constitutional,"  a  course  of  procedure  which,  in  our 
judgment,  is  wholly  without  precedent  in  law  and  sanction  in  the 
Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  Its  inevitable  consequence  must  be  a  fu- 
ture fraught  with  the  most  serious  results  to  the  Church  of  God. 

REPLY   TO   PROTEST. 

Rev.  Joel  Swartz  read,  on  behalf  of  the  committee,  a  reply  to 
the  protest  offered  this  morning. 

Your  committee  to  whom  was  referred  the  protest  read  by  Dr. 
Passavant  before  this  body,  and  signed  by  various  members,  against 
the  action  of  the  General  Synod  in  the  case  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Synod,  beg  leave  to  submit  the  following  answer : 

The  position  of  the  protestants  rests  upon  a  mistake  in  regard 
to  the  nature  and  origin  of  the  difficulty.  They  suppose  that  it 
has  arisen  from  the  exercise  of  the  ordinary  and  legitimate  rights 
of  the  members  of  an  organized  and  representative  body.  Here 
is  their  capital  mistake.  What  are  those  rights  in  such  a  body  ? 
They  are  evidently  such  only  as  can  take  place  in  the  body,  and 
compatibly  with  its  existence ;  such  as  the  right  to  speak,  to  vote, 
and,  by  calling  for  the  ayes  and  nays,  to  have  their  votes  recorded. 
If  in  the  use  of  these  rights  they  find  themselves  in  a  minority, 
the  duty  of  loyalty  requires  them  still  to  submit  to  the  decisions 
expressed  by  the  majority.  If  they  regard  the  action  as  a  viola- 
tion of  the  constitution,  then  they  have  still  another  right — that 
of  respectful  protest,  and  the  recording  of  such  protest  upon  the 


288  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

minutes  of  the  body,  thus  exonerating  themselves  from  all 
responsibility  for  such  action  ;  but  loyalty  still  demands  submis- 
sion. Beyond  this,  the  integral  parts  of  any  organized  and 
representative  body  cannot  go,  and  still  retain  full  and  complete 
membership  in  it.  If,  however,  they  feel  that  they  cannot  sub- 
mit even  under  protest,  and,  proceeding  a  step  further,  withdraw 
from  the  body,  this  act  is  incipient  revolution,  and  of  necessity 
disturbs  the  relations  of  such  members  with  the  body  from  whose 
sessions  they  secede,  and  forfeit  their  share  in  its  governmental 
functions.  When  the  body  represented  by  such  retiring  delegates 
makes  their  action  its  own,  the  revolution  is  complete.  This  last 
step  severs  all  relations,  and  forfeits  all  rights  of  future  member- 
ship. In  accordance  with  these  manifest  principles,  the  organizing 
President  of  the  present  convention  decided  that  "  the  Synod  of 
Pennsylvania  was  out  of  practical  relation  with  the  General 
Synod,"  as  the  delegates  of  the  former  body  had  openly,  and 
without  permission,  seceded  from  the  sessions  of  the  last  General 
Synod  at  York.  Furthermore,  he  was  assured  by  official  docu- 
ments placed  in  his  hands,  that  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania  had 
authorized  her  delegation  in  a  certain  contingency,  of  the 
occurrence  of  which  she  constituted  them  the  judges,  to  protest 
and  withdraw  from  the  sessions  of  the  General  Synod ;  and 
having  no  official  knowledge  of  the  Pennsylvania  Synod's  subse- 
quent action,  he  ruled  that  this  body  could  not  admit  her  dele- 
gates to  participate  in  the  organization  of  this  convention,  as  no 
papers  from  such  Synod  could  be  examined  and  decided  upon 
until  the  officers  necessary  to  an  organization  could  be  elected. 
That  is,  this  body  could  not  entertain  the  application  of  delegates 
from  a  Synod  having  no  practical  relation  to  it  until  the  General 
Synod  had  a  formal  existence.  For  the  absurdity  of  a  body  being 
capable  of  receiving  a  report  before  its  organization — that  is,  be- 
fore it  exists — needs  scarcely  to  be  pointed  out,  and  the  ruling  of 
the  President,  based  upon  this  view  of  the  case,  distinctly  stated, 
was,  upon  appeal,  taken  to  the  undisputed  delegations,  sustained 
by  an  overwhelming  majority.  If  anything  further  be  necessary 
to  illustrate  the  legitimacy  of  the  President's  ruling  and  its  sup- 
port by  the  convention,  it  may  be  seen  from  the  absurdity  of  ad- 
mitting a  principle  contrary  to  it.  Suppose  that  any  number  of 
members  of  the  General  Synod  could  withdraw,  without  permis- 
sion, for  any  cause,  and  yet  be  regarded  as  entitled  to  all  the 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  289 

rights  and  privileges  of  full  membership,  what  would  be  the  con- 
sequence ?  Why,  since  the  constitution  requires  a  "  majority  of 
the  deputies  of  a  majority  of  the  Synods  attached  to  the  General 
Synod  "  to  "  be  present  "  before  "  business  shall  go  on,"  then 
the  verv  existence  of  this  body  might  at  any  time  be  destroyed 
by  the  withdrawal  of  a  majority  of  the  members  of  the  majority 
of  the  Synods,  leaving  the  loyal  minority  without  even  the  power 
of  adjourning  and  appointing  the  time  and  place  of  a  future 
meeting.  Can  it  be  possible  that  the  General  Synod  is  such  a 
body  ?  Is  it  credible  that  she  has  legitimated  such  a  suicidal 
principle  in  her  constitution,  or  in  her  official  action?  And  yet 
this  is  what  is  practically  contended  for  by  the  protestants.  Nay, 
on  the  contrary,  it  is  a  principle  of  common  sense,  and  universally 
admitted,  that  the  rights  and  privileges  of  a  loyal  minority  in  a 
body  cannot  be  destroyed  by  the  defection  from  it  of  a  disloyal 
majority.  Upon  the  indubitable  principle,  then,  that  when  the 
delegates  of  the  Pennt^ylvania  Synod  withdrew  from  the  sessions 
of  the  General  Synod  without  its  consent,  they  could  not  in  such 
state  of  withdrawal  be  counted  among  its  legitimate  membership 
or  be  entitled  to  the  benefit  of  undisturbed  relations  with  this 
body.     The  arguments  of  the  protestants  are  easily  answered. 

1st.  The  argument  that  the  Pennsylvania  Synod  was  officially 
recognized  as  a  member  of  this  body  after  the  withdrawal  of  its 
delegates  at  York,  because  her  name  is  found  on  the  official  roll 
made  out  by  the  retiring  Secretary,  rests  upon  a  mistake,  in  regard 
to  a  point  of  fact.  The  roll  in  the  possession  of  the  President 
during  the  organization  of  this  body  was  the  list  found  recorded 
in  the  minutes  of  the  last  convention.  The  list  contained  the 
names  of  the  delegates  and  of  their  Synods  as  reported  in  the  or- 
ganization of  that  convention,  and  as  the  Pennsylvania  Synod 
was  then  in  full  relation  to  the  General  Synod,  her  name  properly 
appeared  in  the  list;  just  as  being  out  of  relations  now,  her  name 
will  not  appear  on  the  list  or  minutes  of  the  present  convention. 
No  roll  was  made  out  by  the  retiring  Secretary  after  the  with- 
drawal of  the  delegates  of  the  Pennsylvania  Synod.  If  he  haa 
made  such  roll,  it  could  not  oblige  the  General  Synod  to  be  gov- 
erned by  it,  for  it  was  the  mere  act  of  the  Secretary.  To  have 
bound  the  General  Synod,  it  must  have  received  her  official  sanc- 
tion, which  it  did  not.  In  like  manner,  the  argument  that  the 
Pennsylvania  Synod  was  officially  recognized  as  in  full  member- 


290  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

ship  in  the  General  Synod  after  the  withdrawal  of  her  delegates 
at  York,  because  she  is  so  referred  to  in  the  "  Report  on  the  state 
of  the  Church,"  rests  upon  a  misapprehension.  It  is  simply  said 
in  that  paper,  that  in  view  of  the  numbers,  etc.,  represented  in 
that  Synod,  the  Pennsylvania  Synod  must  ever  enjoy  a  command- 
ing place  among  the  Synods  of  the  General  Synod.  As  the  re- 
port was  not  upon  the  relations  of  the  Synod  to  the  General 
Synod,  but  upon  quite  a  different  subject,  viz. :  her  numbers,  re- 
sources, etc.,  the  adoption  of  such  a  paper  did  not  define  those 
relations.  As  the  chairman  of  your  present  committee  was  the 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  that  report,  he  may  be  permitted 
to  say,  that  if  the  protestants  suppose  it  was  the  design  of  the 
committee  to  go  so  far  aside  from  their  proper  business  as  to  ex- 
press an  opinion  upon  the  subject  in  connection  with  which  it  is 
quoted  in  the  protest,  they  are  greatly  mistaken.  As  well  might 
a  similar  remark,  made  in  a  report  a  few  years  ago  upon  the  ex- 
tent and  resources  of  Virginia,  be  quoted  as  defining  the  relations 
of  that  State  to  the  American  Union,  against  which  she  was  then 
in  rebellion.  But  since  the  protestants  have  referred  to  this  re- 
port, it  may  not  be  inappropriate  to  attend  to  an  argument  which 
it  incidentally  furnishes,  that  the  Pennsylvania  Synod  was,  by 
the  withdrawal  of  its  delegates,  put  out  of  practical  relations 
with  the  General  Synod.  Those  who  were  present  at  the  last 
Convention  of  the  General  Synod  will,  perhaps,  remember  that 
the  chairman  of  the'  Pennsylvania  delegation,  who  was  also 
chairman  of  this  very  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church,  de- 
livered into  the  hands  of  the  President  of  the  General  Synod  the 
documents  in  his  possession,  with  the  remark,  that  he  and  his  fel- 
low delegates  mu.st  be  withdrawn  from  their  places  in  the  various 
committees  on  which  they  had  been  appointed.  How  could  he 
have  divested  himself  and  his  fellow  delegates  of  the  duty  as- 
signed them  in  the  General  Synod  without  its  consent,  if  his 
Synod  was  still  a  governing  power  in  the  General  Synod?  Or  by 
what  right  did  the  President  of  the  General  Synod  substitute  for 
the  name  of  Rev.  Dr.  Schaeflfer  that  of  the  chairman  of  your  present 
committee,  if  the  original  chairman  had,  after  his  withdrawal,  a 
right  at  any  time  to  return  and  resume  his  seat  in  the  General 
Synod  and  his  place  in  said  committee  ? 

As  to  the  second  argument  of  the  protestants,  that,  "  Because 
the  constitution  and  by-laws  give  no  power  whatever  to  exclude 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  291 

Synods,  or  even  to  decide  as  to  their  relations  to  the  General 
Synod,  but  merely  make  it  his  duty  '  to  decide  on  the  validity  of 
the  credentials  of  the  delegates,'  "  we  have  only  to  say  that, 
having  proved  that  the  Pennsylvania  Synod  was  out  of  practical 
relations  with  the  General  Synod,  it  was  not  competent  to  the 
President  officially  to  know  any  paper  or  a  credential  of  dele- 
gates from  that  Synod,  and  consequently  not  to  receive  it  at  that 
stage  of  the  meeting  even  for  examination.  The  third  and 
further  claim  of  the  protestants,  that  the  Pennsylvania  Synod  ex- 
ercised only  a  conceded  right  in  withdrawing  from  this  body,  and 
hence  could  not  have  violated  her  claim  to  full  membership,  is 
fallacious,  because,  if  such  right  was  conceded  upon  her  reception 
into  this  body,  at  Winchester,  in  1853,  the  retiring  President  in 
organizing  the  present  convention  could  not  officially  know  the 
fact ;  for  it  is  not  recorded  in  the  minutes  of  this  body.  The 
General  Synod  can  know,  only  such  facts  as  her  official  acts  which 
have  a  recorded  place  in  her  minutes.  The  right  alluded  to  as  a 
concession,  not  being  on  official  record,  and  consequently  not 
binding  on  this  body,  the  President  could  not,  of  course,  respect 
the  claim  based  upon  its  assumption.  If  the  Pennsylvania  Synod 
had,  as  she  claims,  secured  such  an  unusual  concession  from  this 
body,  and  one  to  which  she  attaches  such  an  immense  importance, 
and  of  which  she  now  claims  the  right  to  avail  herself,  even  at 
the  peril  of  the  life  of  the  General  Synod,  it  is  her  own  oversight 
that  it  was  not  officially  entered  upon  the  minates  of  this  Synod, 
and  the  consequences  of  such  neglect  are  of  her  own  procuring. 
But  if  such  a  right  as  that  claimed  had  received  an  official  sanc- 
tion by  the  General  Synod,  still,  as  it  was  essentially  and  neces- 
sarily revolutionary  in  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  this  body 
could  have  consented  to  it  only  as  she  consents  the  other  in- 
tegral parts  of  this  and  every  organization  have  the  ultimate 
right  of  revolution  whenever  the  contingency  justifying  its  exer- 
cise actually  occurs.  Of  course,  then,  she  expected  to  regard  the 
Pennsylvania  Synod  as  occupying  that  necessary  relation  of  prac- 
tical withdrawal  whenever  the  latter  body  choose  to  exercise  the 
right  claimed  to  have  been  granted. 

As  to  the  remaining  argument  upon  this  point,  that  "  the  principla 
upon  which  the  retiring  President  acted,  places  it  in  the  power  of 
any  future  retiring  President  to  rule  out  of  practical  relations 
any  Synod  or  number  of  Synods,  etc.,"  it  may  be  answered,  that 


292  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

it  presupposes  what  is  contrary  to  common  sense,  viz.,  that  future 
Presidents  shall  not  be  capable  of  distinguishing  between  the 
delegates  of  Synods  that  remain  in  loyal  obedience  to  the  body 
and  those  who  disloyally  and  violently  sever  themselves  from  it. 
Finally,  in  regard  to  their  solemn  protest  against  the  final  ac- 
tion of  this  body  in  the  case  of  the  Pennsylvania  Synod,  we 
have  only  time  to  say  that  it  was  announced  by  the  retiring  Presi- 
dent that  an  opportunity  would,  no  doubt,  be  given,  to  present  a 
report  or  credentials  from  persons  claiming  to  be  delegates  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Synod,  immediately  after  the  organization,  by  the 
election  of  officers  ;  that  this  body  did  immediately  after  its  or- 
ganization ask  for  such  a  report,  and  invite  those  brethren  to  pre- 
sent their  credentials  ;  that  she  has  repeated  this  invitation  in  her 
last  action  ;  and  that  consequently  there  is  no.  ground  whatever 
for  the  pathetic  complaint  and  the  doleful  prophecies  which  the 
protest  concludes. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

Joel  Swartz, 
Chas.  a.  Hay, 
Levi  Sternberg, 
d.  a.  buehler, 
W.  F.  Wagenselleu, 

Committee. 
constitutional  amendments. 

(ADOPTED.) 

1.  Amendment  to  Article  II,  in  relation  to  the  ratio  of  repre- 
sentation. Strike  out  the  second  paragraph  of  said  article  and 
insert  the  following  : 

"  Each  Evangelical  Lutheran  Synod  containing  eight  ministers 
may  send  one  ;  if  it  contains  sixteen,  two ;  if  twenty-four,  three  ; 
if  thirty-two,  four ;  if  forty,  five  ;  if  fifty-five,  sis  ;  if  seventy, 
seven;  if  eighty-five,  eight;  and  if  it  contain  one  hundred  and 
upwards,  nine  delegates  of  the  rank  of  ordained  ministers,  and 
an  equal  number  of  lay  delegates.  Each  Synod  at  present  con- 
nected with  this  body  shall  be  entitled  to  at  least  one  clerical  and 
one  lay  representative." 

2.  Amendment  to  Article  III,  Section  3,  in  relation  to  the  ad- 
mission of  Synods.     Strike  out  Section  3  and  insert  the  following  : 

"  All  regularly  constituted  Lutheran  Synods,  not  now  in  con- 
nection with  the  General  Synod,  receiving  and  holding,  with  the 
Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  of  our  fathers,  the  Word  of  God,  as 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE   LUTIIEFvAN    MINISTRY.  293 

contained  in  the  Canonical  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments, as  the  only  infallible  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  and  the 
Augsburg  Confession  as  a  correct  exhibition  of  the  fundamental 
doctrines  of  the  Divine  Word,  and  of  the  faith  of  our  Church 
founded  upon  that  Word,  may  at  any  time  become  associated  with 
the  General  Synod  by  complying  with  the  requisitions  of  this 
constitution  and  sending  delegates  to  its  convention  according  to 
the  ratio  specified  in  Article  II." 

The  Twenty- Third  Meeting  y^d.^  held  at  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  May, 
1868.  The  proposed  amended  constitution  was  adopted  and  sub- 
mitted to  the  District  Synods  for  their  "  decision." 

A  resolution  was  passed  relative  to  the  World's  Evangelical 
Alliance,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  attend  it,  whether 
the  next  meeting  be  held  in  Europe  or  America. 

The  following  paper  on  the  Jubilee  of  the  Reformation  was 
adopted  : 

Your  committee  appointed  to  prepare  a  plan  for  the  prosecu- 
tion of  the  work  of  the  Jubilee,  beg  leave  to  present  the  following  : 

AVhereas  the  Reformation  of  the  Sixteenth  Century,  inaugu- 
rated by  the  nailing  of  the  Ninety-five  Theses  on  the  door  of  the 
Castle  Church,  by  Martin  Luther,  on  the  thirty-first  day  of  Octo- 
ber, 1517,  was  an  event  of  such  magnitude  and  of  such  importance 
to  the  Christian  Church  as  to  deserve  perpetual  commemoration  ; 
and, 

Whereas  the  Lutheran  Church  has  heretofore  celebrated  both 
Centennial  and  Semi-Centennial  Jubilees  ;  and, 

Whereas  the  year  commencing  on  the  thirty-first  of  October, 
1867,  and  ending  on  the  thirty-first  of  October,  1868,  is  the  Sev- 
enth Semi-Centennial  year  since  the  Reformation  ;  and 

Whereas  the  exigencies,  wants  and  interests  of  the  Lutheran 
Church  in  the  United  States  call  for  large  donations  of  money  to 
meet  these  exigencies,  supply  these  wants  and  advance  these  in- 
terests ;  therefore, 

Mesolved,  That  the  history  of  our  beloved  Church,  from  the 
time  of  her  planting  by  the  Reformers  up  to  this  Jubilee  year, 
calls  loudly  upon  us  to  acknowledge  with  devout  gratitude  the 
Divine  goodness  which  has  been  so  signally  displayed  in  her  per- 
petuity and  prosperity,  the  maintenance  of  her  pure  faith,  the 
development  of  her  distinctive  life,  and  her  unexampled  growth. 

19 


294  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Resolved,  That,  encouraged  by  the  past  and  present  of  her  his- 
tory, we  look  hopefully  to  her  future  triumphs,  and  especially  re- 
joice in  the  indications  that  this  Jubilee  year  is  to  make  a  new 
■era  in  lier  spiritual  life  and  benevolent  labors  ; 

JResolved,  That  we  call  earnestly  upon  all  the  pastors  and 
churches  in  connection  with  this  General  Synod  to  celebrate  this, 
our  Jubilee,  with  thanksgiving  to  God  and  renewed  consecration 
to  Christ  and  his  Church  ;  and,  as  a  substantial  expression  of  their 
gratitude,  to  contribute  largely  of  their  means  to  the  Jubilee 
offerings  for  the  treasury  of  the  Lord. 

Resolved,  That  the  historic  Church  year  now  passing  be  cele- 
brated by  all  the  churches  of  the  General  Synod  as  a  Jubilee  unto 
the  Lord,  and  that  it  be  characterized  by  religious  offerings,  com- 
mensurate with  the  ability  of  the  members  of  the  church  and  the 
demands  made  upon  them  as  the  stewards  of  the  Lord. 

Resolved,  That,  to  secure  the  imjDortaut  ends  designed  to  be 
attained,  we  recommend  the  following  ^A^w,  viz. : 

1.   That  the  Secretary  of  the  General  Synod  be  authorized  to 

liave  prepared  and  printed  cards  in  the  following  form, 

and  that  these  cards  be  sent  to  each  pastor  connected  with  us  in 
such  numbers  as  may  be  ordered : 

1.  A.  B.,  agree  to  give  as  a  Jubilee  offering  the  following  sums, 
as  annexed,  for  the  purpose  designated.  (Here  follows  a  list  of 
all  our  benevolent  societies  and  the  names  of  our  institutions.) 

2.  That  this  Synod  recommend  that  the  pastor  of  each  charge 
in  connection  with  the  General  Synod,  sometime  during  the  pres- 
ent Jubilee  year,  present  to  each  of  his  congregations  the  .special 
work  of  the  several  benevolent  societies  connected  with  the  Gen- 
eral Synod  ;  and  that  after  such  presentation  a  Jubilee  offering  be 
solicited  for  the  support  of  these  societies,  and  for  the  support  and 
endowment  of  the  theological  and  literary  institutions  of  the 
Church,  &c.,  &c. 

3.  That  the  subscriptions  be  continued  until  the  next  meeting 
of  the  General  Synod,  and  that  at  that  meeting  each  Synod  be 
requested  to  make  a  full  report  of  all  its  Jubilee  offerings. 

TJt.e  Twevty- Fvurth  Converdion  was  held  at  Washington,  1869. 
Twenty-two  Synods  were  represented. 

At  this  meeting  the  Order  of  Public  Worship,  as  now  practised 
by  many  of  ouT  eastern  churches,  Avas  adopted,  as  well  as  the 
improved  Formula  of  Church  Discipline  and  Government. 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  295 

The  Twenty- Fifth  Session  was  held  at  Dayton,  June,  1871. 
Nothing  requiring  special  mention  in  these  "reminiscences"  was 
done  at  this  meeting.  The  regular  business  was  transacted,  and 
encouraging  reports  of  the  progress  of  the  church  were  made, 
but  nothing  of  an  extraordinary  character  was  done. 

The  Twenty-Sixth  fleeting  was  held  at  Canton,  Ohio,  June, 
1873.     The  Synod  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey  was  admitted. 

ROMISn   BAPTISM. 

The  committee  on  Romish  Baptism  would  report  tliat  this  sub- 
ject has  engaged  the  attention  of  the  Protestant  Church  without 
reaching  a  unanimous  or  definite  conclusion.  It  is  impracticable 
to  lay  down  any  general  rule  that  will  apply  to  every  case  ;  and 
we  can  therefore  only  present  a  few  general  principles : 

1.  The  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  has  never  in  general  de- 
nied the  validity  of  baptism,  as  administered  in  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  holding  that  the  validity  of  this  sacrament  does 
not  depend  on  the  moral  or  spiritual  character  of  the  administra- 
tion, nor  that  of  the  subject,  but  upon  divine  appointment,  and 
upon  the  right  application  of  water  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
Son  and  Holy  Ghost. 

2.  The  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  does  not  encourage  or 
sanction  the  repetition  of  this  sacrament,  believing  that  if  once 
rightly  administered,  it  should  not  be  repeated. 

3.  So  much  must  depend  on  the  circumstances  under  which 
baptism  may  have  been  administered,  and  so  much  is  due  to  the 
conscientious  convictions  of  the  parties  concerned,  that  individual 
cases  must  be  left  largely  to  the  discretion  of  the  individual  min- 
ister and  the  subject  applying. 

CENTENNIAL   CELEBRATION. 

The  Committee  on  the  Centennial  Celebration  report  that  the 
paper  submitted  to  their  examination  is  a  circular  addressed  by 
the  United  States  Centennial  Commission  to  the  clergy  and  religi- 
ous associations  of  the  United  States. 

This  circular  informs  us  that,  "Occupying  a  prominent  place 
in  the  Grand  Centennial  Exhibition  of  1876,  is  Group  95,  compre- 
hending the  general  subject  of  religious  organizations  and  systems, 
and  .subdivided  into  classes  as  follows: 


\ 

296  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

"  1.  Origin,  nature,  growth  and  extent  of  various  religious 
systems  ;  statistical  and  historical  facts. 

"2.  Religious  orders  and  societies,  and  their  objects. 

"  3.  Societies  and  organizations  for  the  propagation  of  systems 
of  religion  by  missionary  effort. 

"  4.  Spreading  the  knowledge  of  religious  systems  by  publica- 
tions. 

"  5.  Systems  and  methods  of  religious  instructions  and  training 
for  the  young." 

It  thus  appears  that  we,  along  with  the  other  churches,  are  in- 
vited to  present  at  the  great  Centennial  an  exhibition  of  our 
progress  as  a  church  for  the  last  one  hundred  years  in  this 
country. 

The  committee  therefore  offer  the  following  : 

Whereas  the  Lutheran  Church,  and  especially  the  English 
portion  of  it,  has  lost  much  prestige  by  failing  to  bring  itself 
prominently  before  the  world  when  occasion  affords ;  and 

Whereas  we  are  now  invited,  with  our  sister  denominations, 
to  make  an  exhibit  of  our  progress — national,  intellectual  and 
spiritual — during  the  last  century,  and  our  standing  at  its  close ; 
therefore, 

Resolved,  That  this  whole  subject  be  referred  to  the  Coinraittee 
on  Statistics. 

Resolved,  That  this  committee  be  instructed  to  report  the 
progress  that  they  have  made  to  the  next  meeting  of  this  General 
Synod,  in  order  that  they  may  be  further  instructed  and  assisted 
in  making  the  illustration  of  our  standing  as  a  church  a  success, 
and  in  order  that  we  may  take  our  appropriate  place  among  the 
denominations  of  the  country. 

The  Twenty- Seventh  Meeting  was  held  in  Baltimore,  May,  1875. 
The  number  of  districts  now  united  is  twenty-three ;  three  were 
added  at  this  meeting. 

The  interests  of  the  various  societes  were  attended  to,  which  as 
was  before  remarked,  I  have  not  room  to  specify,  and  which  must 
be  looked  for  in  the  printed  proceedings. 

The  question  on  ministerium  was  discussed  for  several  days,  and 
the  friends  of  that  ancient  institution  gained  their  point. 

The  proposed  colloquium  was  defeated. 

The  T^venty- Eighth  Meeting  was  held  at  Carthage,  111.,  in  May, 
1877.  Twenty-three  Synods  were  represented.  The  Synod  of 
Wartburg  was  admitted. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  297 

One  important  item  of  business  is  the  following : 

Your  committee  would  also  report  the  reception  of  a  communi- 
cation from  Rev.  S.  A.  Repass,  of  Salem,  Virginia,  together  with 
copies  of  the  minutes  of  the  ninth  and  tenth  conventions  of  the 
Evangelical  Lutlieran  General  Synod  in  North  America,  from 
which  it  appears  that  the  said  General  Synod  has  commissioned 
Rev.  S.  A.  Repass  as  a  delegate  with  fraternal  greetings  to  our 
body  "  on  condition  that  any  existing  resolutions  of  the  latter  {i.  e., 
our  General  Synod)  body  compromising  the  christian  character  of 
the  ministers  and  churches  represented  by  this  General  Synod  be 
rescinded." 

Rev.  Repass  is  not  in  attendance  at  our  present  meeting,  but 
awaits  our  action,  and  asks  a  copy  of  the  minutes  detailing  our 
action  upon  this  communication. 

Your  committee  would  respectfully  report  that  they  have  given 
this  whole  subject  a  very  careful  examination,  and  submit  the  fol- 
lowing conclusions : 

The  only  resolutions  of  an}-  of  our  General  Synods,  known  to 
your  committee,  which  would  be  affected  by  this  requirement  of 
the  General  Synod  South  is  found  on  page  31  of  the  minutes  of 
the  meeting  at  Lancaster,  Pa.,  in  1862.  In  the  deliberate  judg- 
ment of  your  committee,  the  language  of  this  resolution  does  not, 
by  either  fair  or  forced  interpretation,  compromise  the  christian 
character  of  our  Southern  ministers  and  churches,  and  therefore 
the  way  to  the  completion  of  the  friendly  relations  contemplated 
by  the  Southern  General  Synod  is  rendered  not  only  possible,  but 
also  highly  desirable. 

We  offer  the  following  : 

Whereas  in  the  judgment  of  this  General  Synod,  the  action  of 
former  General  Synods  was  not  intended  to  compromise  the  chris- 
tian character  of  the  ministers  and  churches  of  the  General  Synod 
South,  and  is  not  so  interpreted  by  us ;  and  whereas,  if  there  be 
anything  found  therein  that  can  rightfully  be  so  construed  (i.  e., 
as  compromising  the  christian  character  of  said  ministers  and 
churches),  we  hereby  place  upon  record  our  belief  that  such  is 
not  the  sentiment  of  this  body  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  duly  commissioned  delegate  from  the 
Southern  General  Synod  be  officially  informed  of  this  action,  and 
be  cordially  invited  to  consummate  the  object  of  his  appointment 
by  appearing  in  our  midst,  and  by  presenting  his  credentials  in 
person. 


298  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Resolved,  That  the  ofScers  of  this  General  Synod  be  and  they 
are  hereby  authorized  to  appoint  a  delegate  to  return  our  most 
cordial  fraternal  greetings  to  the  Southern  General  Synod,  should 
the  way  for  such  appointment  be  opened  by  the  acceptance  of  this 
overture.  Eespectfully, 

W.  M.  Baum, 
A.  W.  Lilly, 
J.  B.  Baltzley, 
I.  Magee, 
E.  A.  Fink. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHEKAN    MINISTRY.  299 


The  General  Guuncil  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheian  Ghupch 

IN  NORTH  AMERICA. 

AVKiriEN  EXPKESSLV   FOR  THIS  WOHK   BY   KEY.  DR.  SPAETH. 


The  General  Council  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  in 
North  America  consists  chiefly  of  Synods  which  were  formerly  con- 
nected with  the  General  Synod  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church. 
These  Synods,  in  1866  and  1S67,  left  the  General  Synod  and 
formed  a  new  general  body,  the  General  Council.  The  formal  oc- 
casion which  led  to  this  rupture  and  the  consequent  organization 
of  the  General  Council  was  the  following : 

At  the  meeting  of  the  General  Synod  held  at  York,  Pa.,  A.  D. 
1864,  the  Franckean  Synod  was  admitted  into  the  General  Synod. 
As  the  relation  of  the  Franckean  Synod  to  the  Confession  of  the 
Lutheran  Church  had  never  been  defined  in  a  satisfactory  manner, 
objection  was  made  to  its  reception.  The  delegates  of  the  Minis- 
terium  of  Pennsylvania  united  with  delegates  from  other  district 
Synods  in  a  firm  and  earnest  protest  against  the  action  of  the 
General  Synod  in  admitting  the  Franckean  Synod,  as  being  in 
violation  of  its  constitution.  In  addition  to  their  protest,  the 
delegates  from  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania  withdrew  from  the  ses- 
sions of  the  General  Synod  in  order  to  report  to  their  own  body. 
This  was  flone  in  accordance  with  their  instructions  based  upon 
the  resolutions  of  the  mother  Synod,  adopted  A.  D.  1853,  when 
the  Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania,  which  had  taken  an  active  part 
in  the  establishment  of  the  General  Synod,  but  had  afterwards 
seceded  from  its  connection,  resolved  to  return  to  its  former  place 
in  the  General  Synod.  In  renewing  this  connection  the  Ministe- 
rium of  Pennsylvania  had  taken  good  care  to  secure  some  guaran- 
tees that  this  union  should  not  endanger  the  faith  or  oppress  the 
conscience  of  those  who  had  long  resisted  the  resumption  of  an 
active  connection  with  the  General  Synod,  principally  on  the 
ground  of  doctrinal  difficulties.  It  was,  therefore,  "  resolved,  that 
should  the  General  Synod,  as  a  condition  of  admission,  or  of  con- 
tinuation of  membership,  require  assent  to  anything  conflicting 


300  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

with  the  old  and  long  established  faith  of  the  Evangelical 
Lutheran  Church,  then  our  delegates  are  hereby  required  to  pro- 
test against  such  action,  to  withdraw  from  its  sessions,  and  to  re- 
port to  this  body."  In  the  judgment  of  the  Pennsylvania  Synod's 
delegates,  the  admission  of  the  Franokean  Synod  in  1864  was 
such  a  case,  demanding  not  only  their  protest,  but  also  their  with- 
drawal from  the  sessions  of  the  General  Synod  in  order  to  report 
to  their  body. 

With  this  action  of  the  delegates,  however,  the  connection  of 
the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania  with  the  General  Synod  was  not  dis- 
solved. And  as  the  convention  at  York,  after  the  withdrawal  of 
the  delegates  from  Pennsylvania  had  united  on  certain  resolu- 
tions, which  appeared  to  indicate  an  earnest  desire  to  do  more 
justice  to  the  Confession  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church,  and 
to  prevent  in  future  the  reception  of  any  Synod  which  would 
not  stand  on  a  decidedly  Lutheran  basis,  the  Ministerium  of 
Pennsylvania  retaining  its  old  relation  to  the  General  Synod, 
elected  the  usual  number  of  delegates  to  represent  it  at  the  next 
convention  in  Fort  Wayne,  A.  D.  1866.  In  order  to  afford  an 
opportunity  to  these  delegates  to  attend  this  convention,  the  time 
of  the  regular  annual  meeting  of  the  Ministerium  of  Pennsylva- 
nia was  even  postponed. 

But  at  the  organization  of  the  General  Synod  in  Fort  Wayne, 
May  17th,  1866,  when  the  time  had  come  for  the  delegation  from 
Pennsylvania  to  present  their  credentials,  and  take  their  seats  as 
members  of  the  body,  the  President  refused  to  receive  those  cre- 
dentials, and  declared  "  that  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania  was  out 
of  practical  union  with  the  General  Synod  up  to  the  adjournment 
of  the  last  convention,  and  that  she  must  be  considered  as  in  that 
state  of  practical  withdrawal  until  the  General  Synod  can  receive 
a  report  of  an  act  restoring  her  practical  relations  to  the  General 
Synod."  This  decision  of  the  chair  was  sustained  by  a  large  ma- 
jority, and  the  protracted  discussion  on  "  the  case  of  the  Synod  of 
Pennsylvania"  had  no  other  result  but  to  affirm  that  this  delib- 
erate action  had  been  "  regular  and  constitutional."  There  was 
no  alternative  left  to  the  delegates  from  Pennsylvania  but  to  with- 
draw again  in  order  to  report  to  their  Synod.  After  they  had 
left  Fort  Wayne,  a  protest  against  the  action  of  the  majority  was 
entered,  signed  by  twenty-two  delegates  belonging  to  eight  different 
district  Synods. 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE   LL'THERAN    MINISTRY.  301 

The  serious  results  of  this  action  at  Fort  Wayne  appeared  soon 
enough.  Only  a  few  weeks  afterwards  the  Ministerium  of  Penn- 
sylvania, at  its  convention  in  Lancaster,  Pa.,  formally  declared  its 
connection  with  the  General  Synod  dissolved,  because  it  has  been 
"  unjustly  deprived  of  its  rights  by  the  late  convention  of  delegates 
at  Fort  Wayne,  and  because  of  the  conviction,  that  the  task  of 
uniting  the  conflicting  elements  in  the  General  Synod  has  become 
hopeless,  and  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  originally  formed  has 
signally  failed."  It  was  also  resolved  to  prepare  and  issue  a 
fraternal  address  to  all  Evangelical  Lutheran  Synods,  ministers 
and  congregations  in  the  United  States  and  Canadas,  which 
confess  the  U7i a lic7-ed  Augsburg  Confession,  inviting  them  to  unite 
in  a  convention  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  union  of  Lutheran 
Synods. 

In  pursuance  of  this  call,  a  convention  of  Lutheran  ministers 
and  laymen  met  in  the  same  year  at  Reading,  Pa.,  from  December 
11th  to  14th.  The  following  Synods  were  there  represented  : 
The  Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania,  Joint  Synod  of  Ohio,  English 
District  Synod  of  Ohio,  English  Synod  of  Ohio,  Pittsburgh  Synod, 
the  Synods  of  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  Missouri,  Iowa, 
Canada,  the  Ministerium  of  New  York  and  the  Norwegian 
Synod.  A  series  of  Theses  prepared  by  Piev.  C.  P.  Krauth  D.  D., 
containing  "  fundamental  principles  of  faith  and  church  jjolity," 
was  discussed,  and  after  their  unanimous  adoption  it  was  resolved 
to  proceed  to  the  organization  of  the  "  General  Council  of  the 
Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  in  North  America."  The  first 
convention  was  held  in  November,  1867,  in  Fort  Wayne,  Indiana, 
the  following  Synods  appearing  on  the  official  register :  Minis- 
terium of  Pennsylvania,  Ministerium  of  New  York,  English  Synod 
of  Ohio,  Pittsburgh  Synod,  Synod  of  Wisconsin,  Iowa,  English 
District  Synod  of  Ohio,  Synod  of  Michigan,  Scandinavian 
Augustana  Synod,  the  Synods  of  Minnesota,  Canada  and  Illinois. 
There  were  also  present  delegates  from  the  Joint  Synod  of  Ohio, 
though  this  body  had  not  adopted  the  constitution  and  was  not 
ready  to  enter  into  an  organic  union  with  the  General  Council. 
Their  reason  for  declining  to  do  so  was  "  the  unlutheran  doctrine 
and  practice,  which,  despite  the  reception  of  the  confession  or 
doctrinal  basis"  they  "found  to  exist  in  some  Synods."  At  the 
same  time  they  laid  before  the  General  Council  four  questions  on 
its   relation  to   chiliasm,  altar   and  pulpit-fellowship  and  secret 


302  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

societies,  whicli  have  ever  since  played  an  important  part  in  the 
history  of  the  General  Council  as  the  famous  "  four  points." 
Several  of  these  points  were  also  laid  before  the  Council  in  a 
papSr  from  the  Iowa  Synod,  desiring  the  General  Council  expressly 
to  acknowledge  what,  according  to  their  understanding,  was 
virtually  acknowledged  in  the  fundamental  articles,  viz. :  Rejec- 
tion of  all  church-fellowship  with  such  as  are  not  Lutheran.  It 
was  also  demanded  in  the  same  paper  that  church  discipline  be 
exercised  especially  at  the  celebration  of  the  Holy  Comm'union, 
and  against  members  of  secret  societies ;  and  that  the  resolutions 
of  representative  bodies  (Synods,  General  Council)  should  not  be 
legislative  but  only  advisory  in  their  power  over  congregations. 
As  the  General  Council  in  its  official  answer  to  this  paper  declared 
itself  "  not  prepared  to  endorse  the  declaration  of  the  Synod  of 
Iowa  as  the  correct  logical  deduction  and  application  of  the 
negative  part  of  our  Confessional  Books,"  and  referred  the  matter 
to  the  District  Synods,  the  delegates  from  Iowa  in  obedience  to 
their  instructions  declared  that  their  Synod  could  not,  under 
these  circumstances,  complete  the  contemplated  connection  with 
the  General  Council,  but  that  they  had  to  withdraw  to  the  position 
of  merely  advisory  membership  with  the  privilege  of  debate. 

Thus  it  became  manifest,  at  the  very  first  meeting  of  the  Gen- 
eral Council,  that,  after  all,  those  had  not  been  altogether  wrong, 
who,  after  the  rupture  with  the  General  Synod,  hesitated  to  |)ro- 
ceed  at  once  to  the  organization  of  a  new  body,  and  preferred 
correspondence  and  conferences  between  the  different  Synods  as 
the  better  way  to  the  formation  of  a  thoroughly  united  General 
Body.  The  history  of  the  Synods  which,  once  against  the  old 
General  Synod,  desired  to  represent  a  genuine  Lutheranism  and 
to  attain  a  union  on  a  thoroughly  Lutheran  basis,  had  been  a  very 
different  one.  There  were  great  differences  between  the  East  and 
the  West,  between  the  newly  immigrated  and  the  Americanized 
elements.  Important  questions  of  doctrine  and  practice,  which 
had  been  fully  discussed  on  the  one  side,  had  hardly  ever  been 
touched  by  the  other.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  there  were  many, 
and  some  of  them  prominent  members  of  the  General  Council, 
who,  whilst  honestly  subscribing  to  its  Confessional  basis,  were 
not  fully  aware  of  all  the  consequences  implied  in  this  step.  It 
was,  therefore,  perfectly  honest  and  strictly  in  accordance  with 
the  facts  when  the  answer  to  the  paper  of  the  Iowa  Synod  declared 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  303 

that  the  General  Council,  as  a  body,  was  not  prepared  to  endorse 
the  declaration  of  the  Iowa  Synod,  etc. 

If,  in  the  face  of  these  facts,  the  leaders  of  the  General  Council 
still  preferred  to  proceed  at  once  to  a  permanent  organization  and 
to  maintain  it  in  spite  of  disappointments ;  they  did  so,  not  only 
with  a  sincere  wish  to  prevent  a  further  disintegration  of  our 
Lutheran  Church  in  this  country,  but  also  with  a  confident  hope 
that  upon  the  good  foundation  which  had  been  laid  a  solid  struc- 
ture might  safely,  though  slowly,  be  built,  and  that  the  pure  con- 
fession of  the  fathers,  having  once  been  honestly  and  unreservedly 
adopted,  would  virtually  prove  itself  the  power  of  moulding  the 
whole  life  of  the  Church,  wherever  its  principles  would  be  fully 
understood  and  faithfully  carried  out.  The  work  thus  undertaken 
was,  however,  not  an  easy  one.  Elements,  in  many  respects  not 
at  all  homogeneous,  were  to  be  kept  together  in  an  organic  union. 
Principles,  which,  though  generally  adopted  as  fundamental,  had 
not  been  so  generally  appreciated  in  all  their  bearings  and  logical 
consequences,  had  to  work  out  convictions  in  all  patience  and 
firmness.  And  this  was  to  be  done  under  a  constant  pressure  from 
outside,  which  would  give  neither  time  nor  rest  for  dispassionate, 
quiet  consideration,  and  for  the  healthy  growth  of  solid  and  sober 
conviction.  The  history  of  the  General  Council  consequently 
shows  abundant  evidence  of  the  difficulties  under  which  it  had  to 
labor.  It  is,  to  a  great  extent,  the  history  of  the  four  points,  or 
rather  of  the  one  point  of  church  fellowship,  on  which  a  declara- 
tion had  been  asked  for  at  the  very  first  Convention.  One  decla- 
ration followed  another:  At  Pittsburg,  1868;  at  Lancaster,  0., 
1870;  at  Acron,  1871 ;  at  Galesburg,  1875.  All  these  official  ut- 
terances, from  the  earliest  to  the  latest,  acknowledge,  with  more 
or  less  decision,  the  Confessional  principle  involved  in  the  ques- 
tion of  pulpit  and  altar-fellowship,  and  in  spite  of  the  laxity  of 
some  with  reference  to  the  application  of  the  principle.  There 
has  been  a  steady  growth  in  the  fuller  appreciation  of  the  princi- 
ple itself  and  its  practical  application,  culminating  in  the  famous 
Galesburg  declaration,  which  approves  of  the  decided  testimony 
of  the  Augustana  Synod  and  against  unionistic  practices,  pro- 
nounces the  rule,  "  Lutheran  pulpits  for  Lutheran  ministers  only, 
Lutheran  altars  for  Lutheran  communicants  only,"  as  according 
"  with  the  word  of  God  and  with  the  confessions  of  our  Church." 
If  the  delegates  meeting  at  each  convention  are  to  be  considered 


304  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

as  the  real  exponents  of  their  respective  Synods,  with  their  con- 
gregations, it  may  be  said  that,  at  the  present  time,  a  small  ma- 
jority of  the  General  Council  has  come  to  a  full  conviction  of  the 
correctness  of  the  Confessional  Principle  in  the  Church  fellowship 
question,  and  is  prepared  to  carry  it  out  consistently. 

This  position  has  been  reached  in  spite  of  the  hasty  withdrawal 
of  those  very  Synods  which  from  the  beginning  claimed  to  be  the 
representatives  and  champions  of  the  "  confessional  principle." 
The  "Wisconsin  Synod  left  the  General  Council  in  1869.  The 
Synods  of  Minnesota  and  Illinois  followed  in  1871,  because  the 
declarations  on  church-fellowship  were  to  them  unsatisfactory. 
On  the  other  hand  the  Synod  of  Iowa  has  maintained  its  friendly 
relation  to  the  General  Council,  partaking  in  its  debates,  though 
not  entering  into  full  union  with  it.  The  same  position  is  held 
since  1871  by  the  Norwegian  Danish  Augustana  Synod.  The 
Synod  of  Texas  entered  the  General  Council  in  1868  ;  the  Indiana 
Synod  in  1872,  and  the  Holston  Synod  in  1864,  making  the  num- 
ber of  ministers  in  the  General  Council,  including  the  two  Synods 
with  privilege  of  debate,  724,  with  1396  congregations,  and 
201,174  communicants.  Of  these  there  are  about  120,000  German 
or  German-English,  44,586  Scandinavian,  and  36,588  English. 

During  the  ten  years  of  its  existence  the  General  Council  has 
bestowed  the  greatest  care  and  attention  on  the  production  of 
books  of  worship  in  English  and  German  for  the  use  of  its  mem- 
bers in  the  family,  the  school  and  the  church.  In  this  work  it  has 
been  most  successful.  The  Sunday  school  books  and  the  church 
books,  published  in  both  languages  by  authority  of  the  General 
Council,  may  well  be  said  to  be  models  of  their  kind.  They  are 
based  upon  the  most  careful  and  thorough  studies  in  liturgies  and 
hymnology,  and  in  their  preparation  the  very  best  and  mo.st  relia- 
ble sources  have  been  used.  They  are  pure  in  doctrine,  and  com- 
plete in  the  material  which  they  contain.  They  breathe  throughout 
that  spirit  of  devotion  and  unction  which  has  always  characterized 
the  Lutheran  Church  above  all  others.  With  their  confessions, 
prayers,  scripture  lessons,  psalms  and  hymns,  they  form  an  inex- 
haustible treasure,  which  must  become  ever  dearer  to  the  pious 
heart  the  more  they  are  known  and  used  in  spirit  and  in  truth. 
Wherever  they  have  been  introduced  they  are  a  powerful  bond 
of  union  not  only  between  distant  congregations,  but  also  between 
the  German  and  English  element  of  our  Church  in  this  country. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  305 

The  General  Council  has  also  been  active  on  the  field  of  mis- 
sions. Its  Home  Mission  Work,  it  is  true,  cannot  thus  far  boast 
of  great  results,  for  the  simple  reason  that  the  different  District 
Synods  have  always  had  their  hands  more  than  full  of  this  work 
in  their  own  respective  fields.  But  the  Immigrant  Mission  at 
Castle  Garden,  New  York,  which  was  commenced  in  1864  as  the 
joint  work  of  the  Ministeriums  of  Pennsylvania  and  New  York, 
and  afterwards  transferred  to  the  General  Council,  has  proved  a 
great  blessing  to  our  Church  in  this  country  by  taking  care  of  the 
stranger  on  his  arrival,  and  showing  him  the  way  to  the  word  of 
God  and  to  the  church  of  his  fathers.  This  mission  work  is  now 
connected  with  the  Emigrant  House,  16  State  street.  New  York, 
which  offers  to  the  traveler  all  the  comforts  of  a  well-conducted 
boarding  house,  together  with  the  spiritual  blessings  of  a  Christian 
home.  In  the  Foreign  Mission  field  the  General  Council  thus  far 
has  only  two  missionaries  amongst  the  Telugoos,  in  India,  but  the 
lively  interest  which  has  lately  been  shown  in  this  mission  justifies 
the  hope  that  the  work  amongst  these  Gentiles  will  be  a  blessing 
to  many  souls. 

Ten  years  is  a  short  time  in  history,  and  in  the  life  of  General 
Church  bodies.  The  soberminded  observer  will  not  expect  to  see 
great  and  far-reaching  results  in  so  short  a  time.  So  we  find  in  the 
history  of  the  General  Council  for  the  present  only  beginnings. 
But  these  beginnings  we  believe  to  have  sprung  from  good  and 
healthy  seed.  With  the  help  of  God  they  will  grow  and  prosper. 
and  bring  their  fruit  in  due  season,  if  only  the  sowers  will  show 
themselves  faithful  to  their  calling. 

More  than  any  other  Lutheran  Body  of  this  country  the  Gen- 
eral Council  represents  the  peculiar  mixture  of  our  American  Lu- 
theran Church  of  German,  Scandinavian  and  English  elements, 
and  that  critical  period  of  transition  from  the  church  of  the  im- 
migrant to  that  of  the  native  English-speaking  American  popula- 
tion. Its  great  work  is  to  transfer  into  the  sphere  of  the  English 
tongue  a  genuine  Lutheranism,  sound  m  doctrine,  government 
and  form  of  worship  (cultus).  For  this  peculiar  and  difficult 
work  God  has  endowed  it  with  gifts  and  faculties,  such  as 
were  never  before  united  in  the  Lutheran  Church  of  this  coun- 
try. By  the  grace  of  God  it  will  accomplish  its  task  in  pro- 
portion as  it  remains  and  ever  more  grows  faithful  to  its  own 
"  confessional  principle  "  as  laid  down  in  its  fundamental  articles. 


306  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 


OUR  CHURCH  LITERATURE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Every  church  has  its  denominational  literature ;  its  own  pecu- 
liar writers  who  defend  its  doctrinal  position,  or  w'rite  its  history, 
or  prepare  its  books  of  devotion  or  morals  suited  to  its  own  people, 
and  though  the  public  in  general  may  be  and  is  profited,  yet  the 
fame  of  these  writers  is  reflected  on  the  church  to  w'hich  they 
belong,  and  the  church  is  proud  that  she  has  produced  such  men. 

By  the  literature  of  our  church  I  do  not  mean  our  libraries  and 
collections  of  valuable  historical  manuscripts,  whether  public  or 
private,  but  our  own  literary  productions,  the  writings  of  our  own 
ministers  and  laymen. 

There  were  many  difficulties  in  the  way  of  our  ministers 
becoming  authors  in  the  early  periods  of  our  church  in  this 
country.  Though  most  of  the  prominent  men  of  that  day  were 
thoroughly  educated  at  foreign  Universities,  yet  here  they  had 
but  little  time  to  study  or  write  ;  they  were  obliged  to  spend  more 
time  in  the  saddle  than  in  the  study ;  their  mission  fields  were 
vast  and  laborious ;  besides  this,  our  people  were  not  generally 
extensive  readers,  as  but  few  primitive  settlers  any  where  can  be  ; 
they  could  not  afford  to  buy  books  even  if  books  had  been 
furnished,  but  above  all,  there  w^as  no  great  necessity  for  new 
books,  for  the  ministers  brought  libraries  Avith  them  from  Europe, 
and  the  people  had  their  Bibles  and  Arndt's  Wahres  Christenthum 
and  a  few  other  religious  books.  These  reasons  have  some  force 
even  to  this  day,  and  our  transition  state  is  not  favorable  to  the 
cultivation  or  encouragement  of  the  highest  style  of  literary 
production,  but  still  we  have  done  something,  and  it  will  be  my 
aim  to  state  what  has  been  accomplished. 

In  the  second  volume  of  the  Lutheran  Intelligencer,  in  1828,  I 
published  the  first  list  of  Lutheran  writers  in  America  that  was 
ever  made.  It  contained  only  the  chief  productions,  but  still  the 
number  was  few.  In  1840  a  list  of  our  American  authors  was 
appended  by  Professor  Schmucker  to  his  "  Portraiture  of  Luther- 
anism."     The  number  had  increased  considerably  between   1828 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  307 

and  1840,  but  still  the  Professor's  list  did  not  embrace  all  the 
publications.  A  third  list  was  published  by  Professor  Stoever  in 
the  Evangelical  Quarterly  Review  for  October,  1856,  and  a  fourth 
by  the  same  gentleman  in  April  1861.  In  1876  I  published  the 
Bibliotheca  Lutherana,  containing  the  names  of  five  hundred  and 
forty-four  authors,  to  which  work  I  refer  all  readers  who  are 
desirous  of  further  information. 

We  all  know  and  highly  value  Prof.  Stoever  as  an  untiring  and 
successful  gatherer  of  Lutheran  Statistics  and  an  eminent  Lutheran 
Biographer.  I  have  named  him  the  Plutarch  of  the  Lutheran 
Church,  and  he  eminently  deserves  the  title.  The  man  who 
devotes  his  time  to  gathering  historical  facts  concerning  the  church, 
and  rescuing  from  oblivion  many  names  of  precious  memory,  to 
restoring  broken  monuments  and  dilapidated  tomb-stones  and 
freshening  up  with  his  skilful  chisel  the  nearly  effaced  inscriptions, 
as  that  gentleman  has  done,  deserves  the  everlasting  gratitude  of 
the  church,  and  will  receive  it.  But  for  his  indefatigable  industry 
and  unwearied  patience,  many  an  interesting  and  important  fact 
would  have  been  lost  for  ever,  and  many  a  name  fragrant  W'ith 
apostolic  piety  w^ould  have  perished  from  the  memory  of  men. 

It  would  be  too  laborious  and  perhaps  impossible  to  ascertain 
the  number  of  articles  furnished  by  our  ministers  to  the  various 
monthly  journals  that  have  appeared  in  our  Church,  and  utterly 
out  of  the  question  to  ascertain  the  authors  of  the  thousand  arti- 
cles in  our  religious  papers.  But  there  are  seveiral  other  publica- 
tions of  a  more  substantial  character  than  the  Monthly  Magazine 
or  Weekly  Paper,  wdiich  are  properly  mentioned  here.  One  is 
the  "Lutheran  Preacher,"  conducted  by  the  lamented  Eichelber- 
ger.  To  this  twenty-two  of  our  ministers  contributed  sermons, 
six  of  whom  never  published  anything  else.  And  the  other  is 
the  "  Lutheran  Pulpit,"  conducted  by  Rev.  C.  A.  Smith,  for  which 
seventeen  of  our  ministers  furnished  sermons,  three  of  whom  never 
published  anything  else. 

There  is  another  interesting  question  connected  with  this  branch 
of  our  subject,  and  that  is,  how  many  of  our  ministers  have  con- 
tributed to  the  Reviews  and  kindred  publications  of  other  denom- 
inations? As  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  ascertain  only  thirteen,* 
and  the  publications  for  which  they  have  written  are  the  "  Biblio- 
theca Sacra,"  the  "Congregational  Quarterly,"  the  "  Mercersburg 

*  Rev.  Drs.  Krauth,  Sen.,  Reynolds,  Hay,  C.  F.  SehacfTer,  Prof.  StoeTPr.  Rev. 
F.  M.  Ilird,  Prof.  Jacobs  (father  and  son),  Spaeth  and  Rev.  Dr.  C.  P.  Krauth,  Jr., 
Bachman,  Brown,  Morris. 


308  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Review,"  the  "United  States  Service  Magazine,"  "  Appleton's 
Encyclopedia,"  "  McClintock's  and  Strong's  Cyclopedia,"  "John- 
sou's  Cyclopedia,"  "  The  Presbyterian  Review,"  and  some  "  Scien- 
tific Magazines"  of  this  country  and  of  Europe. 

The  books  on  theology  are  the  most  numerous,  the  specific  sub- 
jects of  which  embrace  a  wide  range.  The  remainder  are  orr 
science,  history  and  education.  The  pamphlets  are  for  the  m.ost 
part  sermons.  The  others  treat  the  subjects  of  literature,  science, 
temperance  and  education. 

We  never  had  amongst  us  a  poet  of  the  highest  reputation.  The 
only  volumes  of  poems  ever  produced  by  us  are  two  in  the  Ger- 
man language,  one  by  a  German  minister  in  a  Western  State — and 
that  was  a  posthumous  publication — and  one  by  Rev.  Dr.  Swartz. 
These  display  very  considerable  poetic  talent. 

The  list  of  publications  I  have  spoken  of  is  creditable  to  our 
ministry.  It  shows  that  amid  pressing  pastoral  labors  over  five 
hundred  of  them  have  had  time  to  write  something,  and  courage 
to  trust  themselves  to  the  press.  I  will  not  say  that  we  have  all 
done  wisely,  and  no  doubt  some  have  wished  that  they  had  waited 
a  little  while  longer  and  pondered  their  thoughts  more  maturely 
before  committing  them  to  print.  But  in  this  country  many  things 
are  done  unadvisedly,  and  many  a  man  is  in  a  hurry  to  publish 
crude  and  undigested  stuff,  which  exposes  him  to  severe  and  well- 
merited  criticism,  and  occasions  grief  to  himself  and  his  friends. 
This  is  true,  particiilarly  of  many  of  the  communications  in  our 
weekly  press. 

But  it  is  not  only  the  book  makers  and  pamphleteers  who  de- 
serve honorable  notice.  The  Review  writers  are  equally  and, 
perhaps,  more  entitled  to  favorable  mention  than  the  writers  of 
fugitive  pamphlets.  No  man  with  a  decent  sense  of  proprietj- 
will  commit  himself  to  a  Review  who  has  not  thoroughly  investi- 
gated his  subject.  He  knows  that  few  except  the  most  intelligent 
and  best  educated  of  our  clergy  and  people  read  Reviews,  and 
that  his  article  will  undergo  the  keen  scrutiny  of  competent  critics. 
He  therefore  lays  out  all  his  strength  on  his  article,  and  it  costs 
him  more  labor  than  a  mere  popular  sermon,  and  hence  he  deserves 
the  more  credit.  Yet  book  making,  pamphleteering  and  Review 
writing  are  not  to  be  considered  the  only  tests  of  scholarship. 
There  are  not  a  few  men  Avho  have  never  been  inconsiderate  enough 
to  write  a  book,  jjublish  a  pamphlet  or  contribute  to  a  Review, 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN   THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  309 

who  are  known  to  be  better  general  scholars  and  more  learned 
theologians  than  many  who  have  inflicted  their  writings  on  an 
indulgent  public.  Cases  of  this  character  will  occur  to  every 
intelligent  mind.* 

It  will,  perhaps,  surprise  some  to  hear  that  of  the  several  thou- 
sand publications  less  than  one-third  are  in  the  German  language, 
and  very  few  of  these  are  more  than  occasional  sermons  and  con- 
troversial tracts.  There  are  a  few  devotional  volumes  and  some 
illustrations  of  Luther's  Catechism.  But  this  fact  need  surprise 
no  one.  Our  German  churches  were  better  supplied  with  a  church 
literature  than  the  English  churches  ;  neither  were  they,  in  gen- 
eral, readers  of  other  books  than  two  of  the  best  ever  published, 
viz.,  the  Bible  and  Arndt's  Wahres  Christenthum ;  neither  had 
most  of  our  German  ministers  encouragement  or  time  to  write. 

There  is  one  fact  which,  in  this  connection,  is  worth  mentioning. 
There  is  no  church  in  this  country  in  which  the  Gospel  is  preached 
in  as  many  languages  as  in  our  own.  We  have  German,  English, 
Swedish,  Norwegian,  Danish,  Icelandic,  Bohemian  in  several  dia- 
lects, and  have  had  French  and  Low  Dutch,  so  that  eight  lan- 
guages have  been  employed  by  our  ministers  in  proclaiming  the 
glad  tidings  of  salvation.  AVhilst  we  have  periodicals  published 
in  other  languages  besides  the  German  and  English,  no  book  has 
been  published  by  us  in  any  other  language  in  this  country  except 
Luther's  Catechism,  a  Hymn  Book  and  a  few  sermons  in  one  of 
the  Scandinavian  tongues. 

These  publications  have  been  received  with  varied  success  and 
approbation.  Many  of  them,  such  as  sermons  particularly,  were 
designed  for  private  circulation,  and  are  not  extensively  known 
Some  of  the  more  ambitious  productions  have  had  a  wider  circu- 
lation and  have  been  several  times  republished. 

A  few  of  our  writers  have  been  handsomely  compensated  for 
their  labor,  yet  few  books  pay.  Not  over  one  in  a  hundred  ever 
pays  expenses,  and,  if  any  money  is  made  at  all  out  of  the  ninety- 
nine,  the  publisher  gets  it  all  and  the  poor  author  is  left  dry. 
Authorship  is  a  very  poor  business,  and  yet  not  a  few  are  ambitious 
to  invest  presumed  or  real  talent  in  it,  and  some  are  not  a  little 
vexed  when  Committees  on  Publications  and  professional  book 
publishers  do  not  accept  their  manuscripts  and  put  them  in  print 
at  their  own  expense  and  risk. 

Nothing  is  more  certain,  and  encouraging,  too,  than  that  our 
♦  See  my  Bibliotheca  Lutherana. 
20 


310  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY. 

people  are  fast  improving.  They  buy  and  read  more  books  now 
than  ever  before,  and  every  really  good  book  .furnished  by  our 
ministers  is  purchased  by  many.  And  yet  there  is  good  reason  to 
complain  that  our  writers  are  not  sufficiently  encouraged. 

Only  three  of  our  church  productions  have  ever  been  repub- 
lished abroad,  and  they  are  Dr.  Schmucker's  book  on  "  Christian 
Union,"  which  appeared  in  London  in  1845;  his  translation  of 
"  Storr  and  Flatt's  Biblical  Theology,"  in  London,  and  Dr.  C.  P. 
Krauth's  translation  of  "  Tholuck's  John,"  iu  Edinburg.  Rev. 
Dr.  Krauth's  sermon  before  the  General  Synod,  in  Charleston,  was 
translated  and  published  in  "  Rudelbach  und  Guericke"s  Zeit- 
schrift."  This  is  a  well  deserved  compliment,  and  shows  the  high 
appreciation  of  them  by  foreign  Christians. 

Not  a  few  of  our  clergy  have  received  titular  dignities.  AVe 
have  sixty-six  who  flourish  the  title  of  D.  D.,  and  surely,  if  these 
honors  are  any  real  test  of  theological  scholarship,  we  have  made 
wonderful  advancement.  But  a  D.  D.  at  the  present  day  is  not 
expected  to  be  a  learned  man.  The  question  with  those  sagacious 
college  trustees  who  confer  these  cheap  degrees  is  not  always  how 
many  books  has  the  candidate  read  or  written,  what  attainments 
in  theological  science  has  he  made,  what  learned  articles  has  he 
contributed  to  the  Reviews,  what  great  books  of  other  times  has 
he  edited  with  improvements,  but  how  many  students  can  he  se- 
cure for  the  college,  how  many  votes  can  he  influence  for  a  certain 
measure,  how  many  particular  friends  has  he  among  the  trustees. 
It  is  not  so  in  all  cases ;  there  are  some  exceptions,  but  we  are 
Americans  and  a  very  fast  people.  Besides,  we  have  five  who 
have  the  honor  of  Ph.  D.  ;  three  of  LL.  D.  It  is  said  that  some 
means,  in  certain  cases,  not  very  creditable  to  the  actors,  have 
been  employed  to  secure  this  cheap  distinction.  The  report  is, 
and  it  has  never  been  contradicted,  that  seven  or  eight  of  a  cer- 
tain board  of  trustees  abrogated  a  rule  which  was  in  the  way  of 
their  receiving  the  honor,  and,  after  they  had  "  doctored  "  them- 
selves, they  reinstated  the  rule  ! 

None  of  our  men,  as  far  as  I  know,  have  received  theological 
honors  from  abroad.  Foreign  universities  are  not  quite  so  lavish 
of  college  dignities  as  we  and  they,  simple  people,  think  that  a 
man  should  be  learned  before  he  is  called  so,  and  that  a  man 
should  be  a  divine  before  he  is  styled  a  Doctor  of  Divinity. 
Whilst  no  theological  honors  have  been  bestowed  ujDon  us  from 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  311 

Europe,  I  know  two  of  our  men  who  have  received  diplomas 
from  scientific  societies  of  high  distinction, 'and  one  of  these  has 
been  twice  thus  honored.  A  few  of  our  men  have  been  elected 
honorary  members  of  distinguished  scientific,  philosophical  and 
literary  associations  in  our  own  country,  but  there  is  only  one 
who  has  had  the  honor  of  membership  in  that  most  learned  and 
exclusive  of  all  our  American  societies,  the  Oriental. 

There  is  one  class  of  literature  that  has  been  successfully  cul- 
tivated among  us,  and  that  is  translation,  and  mostly  from  the 
German.  This  is  supposed  by  some  to  be  an  inferior  department 
of  literature,  requiring  no  research,  and  very  little  preparatory 
knowledge.  It  is  true  to  some  extent,  and  yet  not  every  man 
who  understands  two  languages  is  necessarily  a  good  translator. 
It  requires  taste,  tact,  judgment  and  a  copiousness  of  language  to 
do  it  well,  and  all  good  scholars  do  not  possess  these  qualifications. 

I  have  heard  more  than  one  of  our  ministers  regret  that  we 
have  left  so  many  good  Lutheran  books  to  be  translated  by  men 
of  other  denominations.  Nearly  all  the  theological  books  trans- 
lated in  this  country  have  been  Lutheran,  and  some  of  our 
ministers  affirm  that  we  should  be  ashamed  not  to  have  done  thia 
work  ourselves,  for  it  is  our  literature,  and  we  should  have  secured 
the  credit  of  furnishing  it  to  the  English  reading  community.  I 
am  not  of  that  opinion,  for  in  the  first  place,  few  of  our  men  have 
the  requisite  time  to  devote  to  literary  pursuits,  for  I  boldly  affirm, 
that  no  clergymen  of  any  church  are  more  laborious  in  the 
discharge  of  pastoral  duties,  and  few,  if  any,  have  as  much 
pastoral  work  to  do,  as  ours.  Instead  of  being  ashamed  that  our 
ministers  have  not  rendered  more  service  of  this  character,  I  hold 
that  we  should  congratulate  ourselves  that  our  English  reading 
community  so  highly  appreciate  the  German  productions  of  our 
church  as  to  spend  so  much  time  and  labor  in  translating  them. 
Credit  is  reflected  on  the  church  which  furnishes  such  writers,  and 
that  church  are  we. 

But  our  periodical  literature  demands  attention,  and  in  this 
department  we  have  succeeded  well.  The  first  Lutheran  Magazine 
ever  published  in  this  country  was.  Das  Evangelische  Magazin, 
commenced  in  Philadelphia,  in  1811,  and  was  edited  by  Drs. 
Helmuth,  Schmidt  and  others.  It  was  published  at  intervals  in 
8vo.  form  and  was  discontinued  in  1814.  From  that  period  until 
1826,  the  church  was  destitute  of  a'  religious  journal.     In  March, 


312  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

1826,  the  first  number  of  the  "  Lutheran  Intelligencer  "  was  issued 
in  Fredericktown,  Md.,  under  the  editorship  of  Drs.  Schaeffer  and 
Krauth,  the  latter  of  whom  at  the  time  resided  in-  Martinsburg, 
Va.  It  was  a  monthly  publication,  8vo.  size,  and  each  number 
contained  about  26  pp.  It  was  the  first  English  Lutheran  peri- 
odical published  in  this  country.  It  originated  in  what'Avas  then 
known  as  the  Synod  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  and  was  published 
at  its  expense.  Its  duration  of  life  was  five  years.  In  February, 
1831,  the  last  number  was  issued,  when  it  had  less  than  five 
hundred  subscribers  and  was  $800  in  debt.  After  a  vigorous 
attempt  to  collect  the  dues,  there  still  remained  a  balance  of  $500 
against  it,  which  the  Synod  of  Maryland  was  compelled  to  pay. 
The  Intelligencer,  though  not  highly  valued  in  the  last  several 
years  of  its  existence,  performed  good  service,  even  if  it  did  no 
more  than  prepare  the  way  for  other  more  popular  journals.  A 
sturdy  pioneer  in  a  good  work  always  deserves  respect.  The 
chief  editor  was  an  active  and  laborious  pastor  of  a  large  parish, 
and  received  no  compensation  for  his  editorial  work. 

The  next  periodical  in  the  order  of  time  was  the  "  Lutheran 
Magazine,"  published  in  monthly  numbers  at  Schoharie,  New 
York,  and  edited  by  an  association  of  clergymen,  but  chiefly  by 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Lintner.     The  first  number  appeared  in  February, 

1827,  just  eleven  months  after  the  birth  of  the  Intelligencer.  At 
the  termination  of  the  third  volume  it  was  transferred  to  the 
directors  of  the  Domestic  Missionary  Society,  but  it  was  not 
continued. 

The  next  which  appeared  was  "  Das  Evangelische  Magazin," 
published  in  monthly  numbers,  in  German,  and  was  edited  at  first 
by  Rev.  J.  Herbst,  but  subsequently  by  Drs.  Hazelius  and  S.  S. 
Schmucker.  Its  first  number  was  issued  in  September,  1829,  and 
its  last  in  April,  1833. 

The  "  Lutheran  Intelligencer  "  and  the  "  Lutheran  Magazine  " 
having  been  discontinued,  there  was  no  English  paper  published 
in  the  church  from  January,  1830,  to  August,  1831.  On  that  day 
No.  1  of  the  "  Lutheran  Observer  "  was  sent  forth.  It  was  "  a 
little  one,"  a  modest,  unpretending  monthly  8vo.  of  30  pp.,  but 
it  has  grown  to  be  a  power  in  the  church.  It  has  had  more 
friends,  and,  I  may  say,  more  enemies,  too,  than  any  paper  ever 
printed  in  the  church,  and  has  exercised  a  commanding  influence 
for  over  thirty  years.     It  was  begun  in  Baltimore,  but  afterwards 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  313 

transferred  to  Philadelphia,  and  was  first  edited  by  a  very  young 
man,  who  had  no  subscribers,  no  capital,  and  no  experience.  He 
was  injudicious  enough  to  assume  the  responsibility,  at  the  earnest 
solicitation  of  some  influential  men  of  that  day,  and  the  implied 
understanding  was  that  the  church  was  to  receive  the  profits  and 
he  himself  to  pay  the  losses  !  He  has  the  satisfaction  of  having 
heard  more  than  one  man  of  judgment  declare  that  the  earlier 
volumes  of  the  "  Observer"  are  to  this  day  very  interesting  and 
readable  documents.  But  every  man  likes  to  hear  his  first-born 
well  spoken  of,  especially  where  there  is  good  ground  of  admira- 
tion !  The  prospectus  of  the  "  Observer  "  was  issued  at  Gettys- 
burg, where  it  was  intended  to  be  published  ;  but  before  No.  1 
appeared,  it  was  transferred  to  Baltimore,  and  the  aforesaid  min- 
isterial stripling  was  induced  to  undertake  it.  The  reason  of  its 
being  transferred  to  Baltimore  was  simply  this :  in  those  days  of 
extreme  undenominational  liberality  it  was  feared  that  a  paper 
issued  at  Gettysburg,  with  the  name  Lutheran  as  significant  of  its 
character,  would  give  oftence  to  the  Presbyterians  in  that  place, 
and  hence  it  was  brought  to  Baltimore,  where  no  such  apprehen- 
sion existed.  The  second  volume  of  the  "  Observer  "  was  issued 
in  4to.  forni,  and  continued  thus  for  one  year,  when  the  editor- 
ship was  conveyed  to  Rev.  B.  Kurtz,  in  1833.  It  may  just  do 
well  here  to  say,  that  the  first  editor  never  retained  a  cent  for 
his  services,  but  gave  the  profits  to  the  poor.  Mr.  Kurtz  removed 
to  Baltimore,  in  August,  1833,  and  entered  upon  his  duties  with 
energy.  The  "  Observer  "  was  then  converted  into  a  weekly  4to. 
sheet,  and  continued  to  be  published  in  this  form  for  six  months. 
In  April,  1834,  it  appeared  in  an  enlarged  form,  of  usual  news- 
paper size.  For  twenty-five  years  Dr.  Kurtz  conducted  the 
paper  with  varying  success,  and  since  his  retirement  its  history 
is  too  recent  to  be  written.* 

In  1848  the  "Missionary"  was  started  by  Mr.  Passavant,  in 
Pittsburg,  which  has  been  merged  into  the  "  Lutheran  and  Mis- 
sionary," now  published  in  Philadelphia.  The  "  Lutheran  Stan- 
dard "  was  begun  in  New  Philadelphia,  0.,  in  1842,  and  is  still 
continued,  though  published  at  the  present  at  Columbus,  0.  The 
"  Evangelical  Lutheran  "  first  appeared  in  Springfield,  0.,  in 
1853,  and  was  discontinued  after  a  few  years. 

During  this  period  other  journals,  edited  by  Lutheran  gentle- 

*  For  a  full  history  of  the  Observer,  see  that  paper  for  Januarj-,  1877,  and  my 
Bibllotheca  Lutherana,  131. 


314  FIFTY    YEAES    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

men,  appeared,  but  have  ceased  to  exist,  such  as  the  "  Frederick 
Visitor,"  the  "  Olive  Branch,"  of  Illinois,  the  "  Linnsean  Journal 
and  Record,"  the  "  Lutheran  Pulpit,"  the  "Lutheran  Preacher," 
the  "  Monthly  Magazine  of  Religion  and  Literature,"  the  "  Lu- 
theran Home  Journal,"  the  "  Eclectic  Magazine."  The  "  Sunday 
School  Herald,"  published  at  Philadelphia,  commenced  in  1860, 
and  is  still  vigorously  conducted  and  extensively  patronized. 

In  July,  1849,  appeared  No.  1  of  the  "  Evangelical  Review," 
and  has  ever  since  maintained  a  high  standard  for  excellence. 
This  is  the  Lima  inter  minora  sidera.  The  German  papers  have 
increased  in  larger  proportion  than  the  English,  though  their  cir- 
culation is  not  so  extensive.  I  should  be  pleased  to  give  the  his- 
tory, as  far  as  practicable,  of  every  periodical  ever  published  in 
our  church,  but  the  detail  would  be  dry,  and  must  be  reserved 
for  another  occasion,  and  in  a  form  different  from  a  public 
address.* 

Our  periodical  literature  presents  some  striking  and  encour- 
aging facts.  Some  of  us  remember  when  we  had  but  one  English 
paper  and  one  German,  and  now  there  are  seventy-five  journals 
especially  devoted  to  the  interests  of  our  church — twenty-two 
English,  thirty  German,  five  Swedish,  seven  Norwegian  and  one 
Danish. 

The  earliest  Lutheran  book  written  in  America,  though  not 
printed  here,  is  a  translation  of  Luther's  Catechism  in  the 
language  of  the  Delaware  Indians,  printed  in  Stockholm,  in 
1696-8,  and  the  next  is  the  journal  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
Salzburg  emigrants,  who  formed  the  settlement  of  Ebenezer  in 
Georgia.  It  is  entitled  Ausfiihrliche  Nachrichten  von  den 
Salzburgischen  Emigranten  die  sich  in  America  niederlassen  haben 
herausg.  von  Samuel  Urlsperger,  Halle,  1734.  4th.  This  journal 
was  continued  from  year  to  year  until  1752,  forming  eighteen 
parts.  Another  was  commenced  in  1754,  which  is  entitled  Amer- 
icanisches  Ackerwerk  Gottes,  oder  Zuverliissige  Nachrichten  den 
Zustand  des  Americanish-Englischen  und  von  Salzburgischen 
Emigranten  erbauten  Pflanzstadt  Ebenezer  in  Georgien  betrefFend, 
&c.,  Augsburg,  1754.  4th.  The  second  volume  was  published  in 
1755,  the  third  in  1756,  with  a  supplement  in  1760,  and  a  fourth 
in  1767.  These  Salzburgers  appear  to  have  been  as  industrious 
with  their  pens  as  with  their  plough ;  the  printed  books  relating 
to  their  little  colony,  would  form  a  small  library.     There  are  a 

*  See  a  list  in  the  Lutheran  Almanacs  and  in  my  Bibliotheca  Luth.,  131  seq. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  315 

few  of  these  volumes  in  the  Seminary  library  at  Gettysburg.  The 
Hallische  Nachrichten,  begun  in  1744  by  the  Patriarch  Muhlen- 
berg and  his  associates,  are  of  the  same  character  of  publications 
and  belong  to  our  Lutheran  literature. 

The  "  Bibliotheca  Lutherana,"  published  by  me  in  1876,  will 
give  a  better  view  of  the  progress  and  present  condition  of  our 
Lutheran  literature  than  whole  pages  of  description,  and  to  that 
book  I  respectfully  refer  the  reader. 


!16  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 


List  of  Books  on  Lutheran  Church  History  in  Amepica. 


The  following  works  are  indispensable  to  the  writer  of  our 
Church  history  in  America. 

I  can  divide  my  list  into  three  classes :  1.  The  originals.  2. 
The  second-hand.     3.  Modern. 

I.   THE  ORIGINALS. 

I.  Acrelius  Isrceli,  Beskrining  om  de  Swenska  Forsamlingars 
Forna  octnarawan  de  Tilstsena  uti  nya  Swevige  sedan  nya  Neder- 
land,  Stockholm,  1759,  4to.  Description  of  the  present  and 
former  state  of  the  Swedish  congregation  in  New  Sweden  (so 
called),  since  New  Netherland,  &c. 

Acrelius  was  provost  of  the  Swedish  churches  in  America,  and 
pastor  of  the  church  at  Christina,  (Wilmington).  He  returned  to 
Sweden  in  1756,  and  became  provost  and  pastor  at  Fellingbro. 
He  died  in  1800. 

Copies  may  be  seen  in  the  New  York  State  Library  at  Albany, 
and  in  the  Astor  Library,  city  of  New  York.  There  is  a  transla- 
tion of  part  of  it,  entitled  New  Sweden  or  the  Swedish  settlements 
on  the  Delaware,  N.  Y.,  1840,  by  Rev.  Nicholas  Collin.  There  is 
a  copy  in  the  Library  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society, 
Philadelphia.  See  also.  New  York  Historical  Collections,  vol. 
series  II.,  p.  400. 

IL  RecordH  of  the  Dutch  Colonial  Government.  These  will  be 
found  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State  at  Albany ,^and  are 
indispensable  to  a  correct  history  of  our  church.  They  contain 
many  curious  and  interesting  facts  concerning  the  difficulties 
which  our  Church  ancestors  had  to  overcome.  The  future  histo- 
rian must  use  these  records,  if  he  finds  it  necessary  to  travel  to 
Albany,  and  spend  weeks  in  the  study  of  them. 

III.  Thomas  Cam,panius  Holmiensis,  Kort  Beskrining  om  Pro- 
vincien  nya  Swesige,  &c.,  Stockholm,  1702,  4to.  This  is  a  very 
scarce  work,  relating  to  the  establishment  of  the  Swedes  in  New 
Sweden,  afterwards  Pennsylvania.  In  some  American  catalogues 
its  author  is  erroneously  called  Holm.     There  is  a  translation  of 


FIFTY    YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  317 

it  entitled  "  Description  of  New  Sweden,  with  Notes,  by  Peter  S. 
Duponceau,  Philadelphia,  1834,"  8vo.  See,  also,  Historical  Socie- 
ty of  Pennsylvania,  Mem.  vol.  III. 

IV.  Falhier,  Prof.  D.  Nachrichten  von  Pennsylvania.  Frank- 
fort, 1702. 

V.  Gciser,  E.  G.  Svenska  Folkets  History  III.  This  is  said 
to  be  a  capital  book,  and  it  must  be  highly  esteemed,  for  a  trans- 
lation of  it,  by  J.  H.  Turner,  was  published  in  London  as  late  as 
1845. 

VI.  Locceniua,  Joh.  Historioe  Rerum  Ssecicarum.  Upsal. 
This  book  is  quoted  by  Campanius,  1662,  4to.,  and  is  original  au- 
thority. The  author  was  Professor  of  Law  in  Upsal,  and  died  in 
1677. 

A'^II.  Ausfuhrliche  Beschreibung  von  der  unglucklickcn  Reise 
der  Jiingsthin  aus  Deutschland  nach  Carolina  und  Pennsylvania 
Wanderden  Pilgrim.     Frankfort,  1711. 

VIII.  Hallifiche  Nachrichte7i,  Halle.  This  important  work  con- 
sists of  reports  from  Muhlenberg  and  other  early  German  mission- 
aries to  the  society  at  Halle.  They  begin  in  1745  and  end  in 
1785.     [Indispensable  to  a  historian.] 

IX.  H.  Melchoir  Muhlenberg.  Journal  of  a  voyage  from  Phila- 
delphia to  Ebenezer,  Ga.,  in  the  years  1774-75,  translated  by  Rev. 
J.  W.  Richards,  and  published  in  the  Evangelical  Eeview,  Vols. 
I,  II,  III,  IV. 

X.  Ternaux  Cortiparts :  Notice  sur  la  Colonie  de  la  Nouvelle 
Swede.  Paris,  1843.  This  work  will  be  found  in  every  good 
public  library  ;  it  embraces  "  Notices"  upon  all  the  Colonies. 

XL  A  Memorial  of  the  Case  of  the  German  Emigrants  settled 
in  the  British  Colonies  of  Pennsylvania,  and  in  the  back  parts  of 
Maryland,  Virginia,  &c.  London,  1754.  I  never  could  get  a 
sight  of  this  publication.  Colonel  Aspinwall,  a  great  collector  of 
curious  American  books,  had  a  copy,  and  there  is  another  in  the 
British  IMuseum.     It  must  contain  some  strange  facts. 

XII.  There  is  another  Swedish  book,  which  I  do  not  see  quoted 
by  Reynolds,  or  other  American  writers  on  this  subject.  I  will 
give  a  translation  of  the  title :  "  A  short  account  of  the  present 
situation  of  the  Swedish  Church  in  America,  with  incontroverti- 
ble thoughts  (oforgripheliga  tankar)  on  its  future  progress,  drawn 
up  b}^  Andreas  Hessel,  late  its  pastor  and  priest  in  Pennsylva- 
nia."    Norkioping,  1725,  4to,  pp.  23.     Andreas  Hesselius,  the  au- 


318  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY. 

tlior,  was  minister  at  Christina,  from  1711  to  1723,  when  he  was 
recalled  home  to  Sweden,  and  died  in  1733.  -  I  have  seen  no 
other  notice  of  this  book  than  in  Eich's  Bibliotheca  Americana 
Nova. 

XIII.  Pastorius,  Melch.  A.  Beschreihitng  von  Pennsylvania. 
Frankfort,  1704. 

XIV.  Urlsperger,  Samuel.  Ausfuhrliche  Nachrichten  von  den 
8alzhurgischen  Emigranten,  die  sich  in  America  niedergelassen 
haben,  &c.,  &c.  Halle,  1735,  4to.  There  is  a  copy  in  the  Gettys- 
burg Seminary  Library.  This  journal  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
Salzburg  emigrants  who  formed  the  settlement  of  Ebenezer,  in 
Georgia,  was  continued  from  year  to  year  to  1752,  forming  eighteen 
parts.  Another  work  on  the  same  subject  was  commenced  in 
1754,  and  is  called  Americanischer  Ackerwerk  Gottes,  &c  ,  &c. 

•  Augsburg.  This  is  a  continuation  of  the  book  noted  above  ;  the 
second  volume  was  published  in  1755;  the  third  in  1756,  with  a 
supplement  in  1760  ;  the  fourth  volume  was  published  by  Johann 
August  Urlsperger  in  1767.  The  honest  Salzburgers  appear  to 
have  been  as  industrious  with  their  pens  as  with  their  ploughs ; 
the  printed  books  relating  to  their  little  colony  would  form  a 
small  library. 

By  the  SECOND  DIVISION  I  d  o  not  mean  second  rate,  but  those 
writers  of  history  who  have  used  the  originals  in  the  composition 
of  their  books,  with  numerous  references  and  quotations,  and  by 
the  modern  I  mean  those  who  for  the  most  part  are  indebted  to  the 
second-hand  for  their  facts,  because  the  originals,  or  most  of  them, 
were  not  within  their  reach. 

Under  my  second  division  belong  such  books  as : 

1.  Documentary  History  of  New  York,  to  be  found  in  every 
public  library. 

2.  O'Callaghan's  History  of  the  New  Netherlands.  This  im- 
portant work  dare  not  be  overlooked  by  the  historian. 

3.  Munsell's  History  of  Albany  will  furnish  some  interesting 
details. 

4.  Brodhead's  History  of  New  York  must  be  consulted,  and 
so  may  Dunlap's. 

5.  Bancroft's  United  States,  though  containing  some  errors  with 
regard  to  our  Church,  must  be  on  your  table. 

6.  Coming  down  to  Pennsylvania,  you  will  find  Hazard's  Annals 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  319 

indispensable,  as  well  as  the  volumes  of  the  Colonial  Records  of 
Pennsylvania. 

7.  Williamson's  History  of  North  Carolina,  though  meagre  and 
unsatisfactory,  contains  some  facts. 

8.  Ferris,  Benjamin.  History  of  the  original  settlements  on  the 
Delaware.  Last  edition,  Wilmington,  1846.  You  cannot  get 
along  without  this,  and  the  same  may  he  said  of  Clay,  J.  C. 
Annals  of  the  Swedes  on  the  Delaware. 

The  above  comprise  the  mo.st  important  works  of  class  II., 
but  if  any  readers  or  writers  do  not  desire  to  extend  their  re- 
searches quite  so  far,  I  will  give  them  a  few  names  under  class 
III.,  THE  MODERN. 

1.  Reynolds,  W.  M.  The  Swedish  Churches  on  the  Delaware. 
See  Evangelical  Review,  I,  161. 

The  Lutheran  Church  in  New  Netherlands  and  New  York. 
Ibid.,  VI,  303.  Both  capital  articles,  and  thorough  with  full 
references. 

2.  Schmucker,  S.  S.     The  Lutheran  Church  in  America. 

3.  Hazelius,  E.  S.  History  of  American  Lutheran  Church. 
1846. 

4.  Schaeffer,  C.  W.     Early  History  of  Lutheran  Church, 

5.  Stoever,  M.  L.  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  in  the  United 
States.  Evangelical  Review,  Reminiscences  of  Lutheran  Clergy- 
men— in  Evangelical  Review,  Life  and  Times  of  H.  M.  Muhlen- 
berg.    1856. 

6.  Strobel,  P.     The  Saltzburgers  and  their  descendants.     1835. 

7.  Muhlenberg,  F.  A.  Memoir  of  H.  M.  Muhlenberg.  Evan- 
gelical Review,  III,  151. 

8.  Krauth,  C.  P.,  Sr.  The  Lutheran  Church  in  United  States. 
Evangelical  Review,  II,  1. 

9.  Lintner,  G.  A.  Early  History  of  Lutheran  Church  in  State 
of  New  York.     1867. 

10.  Pohlman,  H.  N.  The  German  Colony  in  Maine.  Evan- 
gelical Review.     1869, 

11.  Harkey,  S.  W.  Early  History  of  Lutheranism  in  Illinois, 
Evangelical  Review,  XVII,  526. 

12.  Bernheim,  G.  German  Settlement  and  the  Lutheran  Church 
in  the  Carolinas, 

Several  of  our  men,  as  Diehl,  Harbaugh,  Focht,  Harkey  and 
others,  have  published  histories  of  individual  churches,  which  are 


320  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

important  to  a  historian,  and  it  would  be  well  if  printed  or  un- 
printed  records  of  that  character  were  carefully  pr-eserved. 

Everything  connected  with  our  history  must  be  studiously  ex- 
amined, and  hence  I  would  commend  to  the  notice  of  our  future 
historiographer,  a  series  of  articles  in  the  "  Kirchliches  Informa- 
torium,"  Detroit,  1870,  upon  the  Rise,  Emigration,  Settlement  and 
Church  Development  of  the  Prussians,  &c.,  now  known  as  the 
Buffalo  Synod. 

Herzog's  EncyclojDedia  also  furnishes  some  facts,  under  various 
articles,  which  the  student  can  easily  find,  and  among  others,  that 
one  giving  an  account  of  the  earlier  history  of  what  is  now  called 
the  Missouri  Synod. 

Some  interesting  papers  on  the  history  of  the  Church  in  the 
city  of  New  York,  which  appeared  in  the  Lutheran  Observer,  by 
G.  P.  Ockerhausen. 

The  following  is  an  appropriate  sequel  to  the  preceding.  It 
is  kindly  furnished  by  Rev.  Mr.  Sheeleigh,  who  is  one  of  our 
most  industrious  and  successful  collectors  of  Lutheran  Lite- 
rature among  us.  This  collection  is  precisely  what  the  future 
historian  of  our  church  will  want,  and  I  esteem  it  a  privilege  to 
insert  it  here.     He  says  : 

In  my  library,  consisting  of  about  three  thousand  volumes,  there 
are  publications  of  Lutherans  in  America  about  four  hundred 
volumes,  large  and  small. 

Add  to  these  bound  volumes  of  collected  Lutheran  Sermons, 
Addresses,  &c.,  twenty-three  volumes,  containing  about  seven 
hundred  pamphlets. 

Catalogues  of  Lutheran  Colleges,  Seminaries,  &c.,  eight  vol- 
umes, containing  over  three  hundred  pamphlets. 

Lutheran  Almanacs,  four  volumes,  about  one  hundred. 

Specimens  of  Lutheran  Periodicals,  in  pamphlet  form,  near  one 
hundred. 

Minutes  of  Synods,  about  twelve  hundred. 
.    Of  Lutheran  Papers,  &c.,  I  possess  files  of  the  greater  part, 
many  bound. 

Have  nearly  all  our  Lutheran  Hymn  Books — English,  German, 
&c.,  large  and  small,  for  church  and  Sunday  school. 

Have  seventy-five  different  American  issues  and  editions  of 
Luther's  smaller  Catechism — English,  German,  Swedish  and  Nor- 
wegian. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  321 

Have  gathered  nearly  one  thousand  American  Lutheran  publi- 
cations, exclusive  of  minutes,  catalogues,  &c.,  in  the  last  twenty- 
five  years. 

Of  translations  of  Luther's  Hymn  Ein'  feste  Burz,  I  have  as 
follows : 

English,  produced  in  this  country  and  Great  Britain,  upwards 
of  fifty. 

In  twenty-two  other  languages,  from  one  to  six  in  each,  gath- 
ered from  the  greater  part  of  Europe  and  more  distant  parts ; 
making  the  aggregate  number  of  copies  almost  one  hundred. 

Besides  these,  I  have  several  imitations  and  parodies,  also 
several  pieces  of  music  written  for  the  hymn. 

I  estimate  that  we  have  thus  far  had  over  five  hundred  authors 
in  this  country,  and  about  fifteen  hundred  distinct  productions. 


322  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 


MAHTIN  STEPHAN  AND  THE  STEPHANITES. 


The  object  of  this  article,  which  is  abbreviated  from  a  paper  by 
Dr.  J.  B.  Kummer,  of  Dresden,  is  to  give  my  readers  the  benefit 
of  the  clear  and  important  light  which  it  throws  upon  the  nearly 
unknown  origin,  early  history,  and  real  attitude  and  animus  of  a 
class  of  co-religionists  among  us,  much  praised  by  some  and  much 
censured  by  others.  We  refer  to  those  who  are  best  known  by 
the  name  of  Missouri  Lutherans — a  body  which  has  now  become 
large  and  influential,  particularly  among  the  German  population. 
Some  of  their  most  distinguished  leaders  are  named  in  the  article, 
which  fully,  impartially  and  authentically  explains  under  what 
circumstances  and  to  what  intent  they  came  among  us.  The  his- 
tory, we  are  sure,  is  a  very  different  one  from  what  is  generally 
supposed,  and  it  gives  the  true  and  natural  key  to  the  right  un- 
derstanding of  some  of  the  more  marked  and  extraordinary  char- 
acteristics of  a  body  with  which  the  Lutheran  Church,  in  general, 
has,  and  will  have,  more  or  less  to  do.  It  is  but  just,  therefore, 
that  it  should  be  known  whence  they  sprang,  how  they  came 
hither,  and  what  the  nature  is  of  that  root  from  which  they  have 
grown  and  derived  their  life.* 

The  name  of  Stephan  is  connected  with  a  too  important  and 
far-reaching  movement  in  the  church  history  of  our  time  not  to 
deserve  a  place  here. 

Martin  Stephan  was  born  at  Strausberg,  Moravia,  August  L3, 
1777.  His  parents  were  originally  Roman  Catholics.  The  father, 
a  weaver,  became  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  while  the 
mother,  with  the  children,  remained  Catholic.  Afterwards,  how- 
ever, she  also  joined  the  Lutheran  Church.  His  father  destined 
him  for  his  own  trade,  but,  with  his  pietistic  tendency,  he  took 
particular  care  of  his  Christian  education,  so  that  Martin,  already 
in  early  youth,  became  pretty  familiar  with  the  Bible.  But,  as 
both  his  parents  died  already  at  an  early  period,  he  spent  his 
childhood  and  youth  in  sorrow  and  want,  and  under  the  Austrian 

*  Sec  Herzog-'s  Enc  clnpedia.  Vol.  XV,  41-61;  Ev.  Quart.  Rev.,  April  No.,  18T0; 
Kurtz's  Church  History;  Kostoring  Auswanderung  der  Sachsischen  Lutheraner, 
im  Jahre  1838,  St.  Louis,  1887;  Schieferdecker  Geschichte  d.  ersten  Deutschen 
Ansiedelung  in  Altenburg,  Perry  co.,  Mo. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  323 

"  edict  of  toleration."  His  education  was,  under  these  circum- 
stances, a  very  limited  one.  In  his  twenty-first  year  he  came,  as 
a  journeyman  weaver,  to  Breslau,  after  having  been  subjected  at 
home  to  the  persecution  of  the  Catholics.  In  Breslau  he  imme- 
diately joined  the  Pietists,  and  attended  their  devotional  meetings, 
indulging  in  polemics  already  at  that  time  with  an  inflexible  mind 
and  an  imperious  character.  With  the  ardent  desire  of  the  newly 
awakened  to  preach  the  salvation  also  to  others,  and  supported  by 
Christian  philanthropists,  he  entered,  in  the  year  1802,  the  Eliz- 
abeth Gymnasium  at  Breslau. 

He  was  already  then  very  familiar  with  the  German  Bible, 
since  he  had  improved  even  the  nights  for  reading  the  Scrip- 
tures as  well  as  other  religious  books.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
five  years,  a  member  of  the  fourth  form  in  school,  he  naturally 
had  to  encounter  a  great  deal  of  ridicule  on  the  part  of  his 
younger  school-fellows,  which,  to  be  sure,  was  partly  repressed 
by  his  extraordinary  strength  and  size  (he  measured  six  feet 
three  inches),  but  which,  nevertheless,  contributed  towards  more 
and  more  confirming  him  in  his  natural  bitterness,  asperity 
and  imperiousness,  as  also  in  his  strong  self-reliance.  In  , spite 
of  his  strong  will,  he  was  unable  to  retrieve  what  he  had  ne- 
glected, and,  more  on  account  of  his  age  than  of  his  maturity, 
he  gradually  advanced  to  the  first  form,  where  the  office  of  aman- 
uensis of  the  Rector  gave  him  a  sort  of  legal  authority  over  his 
fellow-students,  which  he  not  unfrequently,  with  arbitrary  tyranny, 
extended  beyond  its  proper  bounds.  At  that  time  lie  is  said  to 
have  procured  for  himself  an  old  gown,  and  to  have  preached  in 
a  loud  voice  for  hours  in  his  cell.  After  having  learned  only  the 
most  necessary  Latin  and  much  less  Greek,  he  entered,  in  1804, 
the  University  of  Halle,  still  aided  by  support  which  he  received 
from  Breslau,  and,  after  an  interruption  from  1806-1809,  the 
University  of  Leipsic,  where  he  attended  some  philosophical  and 
theological  lectures,  without  making  great  progress  in  the  learned 
studies,  which  he  rejected  as  "carnal  sciences."  In  everything 
that  did  not  date  from  antiquity  he  discovered  infidelity  or  heter- 
odoxy. Here,  too,  his  principal  studies  were  devoted  to  the  as- 
cetics, especially  from  the  period  of  Spcner  and  Franche.  His 
dogmatic  theology  he  owed,  next  to  the  symbolical  writings,  to 
Freylinghausen's  fundamental  theology,  his  knowledge  of  homi- 
letics  to  Scriver's  "  Seclenschatz."      Of  ecclesiastical  history  he 


324  FIFTY    YEAKS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY. 

had  ca  thorough,  though  one-sided,  knowledge,  which  he  also  knew 
how  skilfully  to  apply  to  instruction  or  conversation.  The  defi- 
cient extent  of  his  knowledge  was  made  good  by  its  intensity,  to 
which  a  good  memory  and  a  great  amount  of  serious  experience 
was  added.  Thus  his  sermons  and  conversations  were  never 
tedious. 

Stephan  had  hardly  finished  his  studies  when  he  received  a 
call  as  pastor  to  Haber,  in  Bohemia,  and,  after  one  year  spent 
in  this  "  school  of  abstinence,"  another  call  as  pastor  of  the  Bohe- 
mian congregation  of  exiles,  and  German  preacher  at  St.  John's 
church  in  Dresden  (1810),  mainly  through  the  vigorous  intercession 
of  the  court-chaplain.  Dr.  Doering,  since  he  then  was  considered 
a  Moravian.  He  had  declined  a  call  to  Eochsburg  as  court-chap- 
lain. In  Dresden  his  sermons,  in  which  the  strict  Lutheran-bib- 
lical spirit  prevailed,  met  immediately  with  great  approval  on  the 
part  of  the  small  number  of  susceptible  persons,  and  before  long 
a  large  audience  gathered  around  him  at  the  Gervian  service, 
Avhile  the  Bohemian  congregation,  at  that  time,  numbered  hardly 
more  than  three  hundred  members.  Besides,  he  continued,  in  the 
manner  of  Spener,  the  devotional  evercises,  "  which  had  been 
kept  up  for  nearly  half  a  century  by  all  his  predecessors,  es- 
pecially by  Pastor  M.  Petermann.  Every  fortnight  Pastor  Ste- 
phan instituted  on  Sunday  evening,  after  singing  and  prayer,  a 
"recapitulation  of  the  sermon;"  on  the  alternate  Sundays  he  had 
a  sermon  read;  Mondays  and  Fridays,  from  8-10  P.  M.,  there 
were  devotional  exercises ;  on  the  first  Monday  of  every  month 
there  was  "  conversation  "  for  men,  to  which,  however,  also  boys 
were  admitted  ;  and,  at  other  stated  times,  various  other  religious 
meetings  were  held.  During  the  "conversations,"  which,  how- 
ever, were  instituted  only  at  a  later  time  (about  1830?),  to  grat- 
ify the  wants  of  the  many  in  search  of  advice  and  instruction, 
every  member  was  entitled  to  anonymously  write  down  questions 
regarding  matters  of  faith  and  conscience,  as  also  domestic  affairs, 
and  deposit  them  into  a  box,  or  to  orally  propound  them;  and 
the  pastor  afterwards  answered  these  questions  generally  with 
great  precaution,  pastoral  wisdom  and  rare  knowledge  of  human 
nature.  On  Friday  evenings  there  was  a  Bible-lesson  for  both 
sexes,  when  the  Bible  was  read,  chapter  by  chapter,  together  with 
the  Tubingen  Summaries ;  these,  too,  were  seldom  attended  by 
Stephan  himself.     When,  during  these  devotional  exercises,  any 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  325 

prayers  were  said,  they  had  always  to  be  read  by  the  laymen,  as 
he  did  not  allow  any  free,  extemporaneous  prayers  on  these  oc- 
casions. 

But.  what  secured  to  Stephan,  in  so  short  a  time,  such  a  number 
of  followers,  "  aside  of  his  vigorous,  tall,  though  somewhat  clumsy 
form,  he  possessed  nothing  that  could  have  attracted  the 
world — neither  declamatory  nor  gesticulatory  excellence,  nor  fiery 
or  fluent  eloquence,  nor  a  pure  pronunciation,  nor  any  artistic 
skill  in  the  arrangement  of  his  sermons,  nor  any  rhetorical  aid 
whatever.  With  a  Bohemian  accent,  a  hollow,  monotonous  voice, 
and  defective  Clerman,  this  man  ventured  to  preach  the  "  divine 
folly  of  the  gospel "  to  one  of  the  most  highly  cultivated  cities  of 
Germany."  And  yet  the  two-edged  sword  of  the  Spirit,  managed 
by  an  apparently  unskilled  hand,  entered  with  an  almost  irresist- 
ible power  deep  into  the  hearts  of  all  his  hearers,  so  that  they 
either  suffered  their  wounds  to  be  bound  up  by  him  with  the 
consolation  of  divine  mercy,  or,  at  least,  for  the  most  part,  took 
home  a  sting  of  conscience. 

The  powerful  impression  produced  by  his  sermons  caused  him 
soon  to  appear  to  many  as  a  "  dangerous  man."  Stephan's  activity 
in  Dresden,  by  his  sermons  and  his  zeal,  was  at  that  time,  until 
about  1825,  undeniably  blessed  by  the  Lord  in  many  respects  !  In 
his  personal  intercourse  he  was  extremely  amiable,  attractive  and 
interesting,  nay  overpowering  and  winning  the  hearts  "  with 
magic  force  ;"  there  was  hardly  a  trace  perceptible  of  any  zealot- 
ical  disposition  ;  his  nightly  walks  in  the  woods,  of  which  he  had 
always  been  very  fond,  and  in  which  he  generally  indulged  in 
company  with  a  friend  only,  or  with  his  Bohemian  chorister,  were 
still  of  an  entirely  harmless  character. 

The  sensation  produced  by  the  fidelity  of  the  strictly  Lutheran 
preacher  to  his  faith,  and  by  the  extraordinary  success  of  his 
activity,  increased  the  number  of  the  curious,  and  gradually 
changed  into  hatred  and  contumely  among  the  masses. 

The  clergy  of  the  church  of  the  cross  ("  Kreuz-Kirche,"  the 
principal  church  of  the  old  city  Dresden),  submitted  to  the  church- 
superintendents  on  the  13th  of  March,  1820,  a  well  supported 
complaint  against  him.  But  in  spite  of  the  admonition  which  he 
received  from  his  superior,  and  in  spite  of  his  promises,  everything 
remained  as  before,  and  his  encroachments  even  increased.  But 
now  soon  the  first  public  attack  appeared  on  the  part  of  an 
21 


326  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

anonymous  writer  in  the  "  correspondent  from  and  for  Germany  " 
of  the  25th  of  August,  1821,  in  which  Stephan  was  called  a 
"misguided  mind,  lying  preacher  and  fanatic,  with  a  misleading 
doctrine,  apt  to  undermine  the  state,  who  endeavored  to  found-  a 
sect ;  while  his  congregation  was  called  a  miserable  band  of 
weak-minded,  short-sighted  and  crazed  fanatics.  These  crim- 
inations of  a  "malignant  slanderer"  Stephan  refuted  by  a 
"correction"  in  the  "national  Gazette  of  the  Germans"  No.  47 
(Nov.  21,  1821),  in  which  he  said  among  other  things:  "I  am 
neither  a  founder  nor  a  leader  of  sects ;  I  hate  all  sectarianism 
and  fanaticism.  I  am  an  Evangelical  Lutheran  preacher ; — my 
religion  is  neither  above  nor  heloiv  the  Bible,  but  written  in  the 
Bible  and  leads  to  Christ; — the  recapitulations  of  my  sermons  I 
hold  in  my  parsonage  with  the  doors  open; — in  my  congregation 
neither  insanity  nor  murder  has  taken  place,  &c." 

Since  busy  rumor  now  involved  him  more  and  more,  by 
circulating  scandalous  reports  and  denouncing  him  to  the  police, 
he  found  himself  compelled  to  submit  to  his  superiors  an  "  explicit 
well-founded  declaration,"  which  seems  to  have  given  complete 
satisfaction  (L.  Fischer,  page  19).  But  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Dresden  he  addressed  in  the  month  December,  1823,  a  preface  to 
two  of  his  sermons  "  Herzlicher  Ziiruf  an  alle  evangelischen 
Christen,''  in  which  he  defends  himself  especially  against  the 
accusation  of  fanaticism  and  sectarianism.  Still  more  important 
was  in  the  year  1825,  the  publication  of  one  year's  sermons. 
Already  the  title  of  this  work,  "  The  Christian  faith,  in  one 
year's  sermons,"  &c.,  shows  that  he  intended  to  give  here  some- 
thing complete,  the  Christian  faith,  such  as  he  was  teaching  it,  his 
open  confession.  Pernicious,  however,  and  not  to  be  justified  in 
this  way,  are  the  assertions  of  miracles  which  even  now  are  taking 
place  and  to  be  expected  (Part  II  page  331).  Connected  with 
many  objectionable  expressions  is  a  very  awkward  quarreling 
with  those  of  different  opinions  [of  this  Stephan  was  especially 
fond  in  his  hours  of  devotion,  according  to  the  testimony  of  all 
witnesses]  and  particularly  very  harsh  criticisms  of  those  teachers 
whom  Pastor  Stephan  considered  as  infidels.  With  such  defects 
these  sermons  might  easily  foster  fanatical  belief  in  miracles  [as  it 
actually  xvas  to  be  found  here  and  there  among  the  Stephanites] 
superstitious  ideas  of  God's  judgments  and  intolerant  tendencies. 

Adversaries  among  his  hearers,  though  bearing  witness  to  the 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN   THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  o27 

purity  of  the  Lutheran  doctrine  he  preached,  assured  that  lie 
accused  as  heretics  all  who  were  not  his  followers,  and  invited  them 
in  the  main  to  believe  blindly.  His  own  followers  are  all  more 
or  less  distinguished  by  a  stubborn  adherence  to  the  letter  of  the 
■Bible  and  of  the  symbols,  which  they  are  far  from  correctly  under- 
standing, and  by  great  zeal  for  the  doctrine  preached  by 
Stephan,  &c. 

Thus  reads  in  the  main  the  corresponding  passage  in  the  report 
of  the  commissaries,  who,  since  November,  1839,  had  been  charged 
with  the  examination  of  the  complaints  against  Stephan.  The 
publication  of  these  sermons,  we  are  told  by  one  well  informed 
("  The  emigrants  and  the  Lutheran  Church  "),  proved  to  be  "  a 
very  decisive  turning-point  for  Stephan."  That  time  was  "  the 
period  of  his  bloom,  for  he  then  enjoyed  the  undivided  respect 
and  love  of  more  than  one  thousand  persons,  among  whom  there 
were  many  families  of  rank  ;  within  the  sphere  of  his  activity 
there  reigned  an  active  Christian  life ;  his  position  with  regard  to 
the  outside  world  could  hardly  be  called  a  hostile  one ;  in  spite 
of  many  calumnies  and  his  preceding  unpleasant  experiences,  the 
number  of  his  friends  had  increased ;  in  his  heart  there  dwelt  an 
apparent  serenity  on  account  of  the  many  mercies  which  God  had 
granted  him  in  his  calling,"  &c.  But  for  the  mass  of  his  hearers 
his  stock  of  sermons  became  now  "  as  it  were,  a  symbolical  book." 

"  Many  who  had  listened  for  years  to  his  lengthy  sermons, 
which  were  rarely  logically  arranged,  without  being  plainly 
conscious  of  his  doctrine,  became  so  by  means  of  this  book  ;  those 
more  accustomed  to  reading  received  in  it  a  standard,  by  which 
to  decide  all  dubious  cases  and  religious  disjiutes,  so  that  Stephan 
now  also  not  only  on  Sundays,  but  every  day  and  at  any  time, 
became  their  spiritual  adviser,  teacher,  and  comforter.  This  book 
gave  likewise  a  special  impulse  and  aid  to  his  later  adherents,  to 
secure  authority  to  Stephan's  name  in  the  province.  In  general 
the  absolute  devotion  of  the  ''  Stephanites"  to  Stephan's  doctrine 
and  person  grew  more  and  more ;  "it  turned  more  and  more  into 
a  carnal  attachment  to,  and  dependence  upon,  the  ci'eatare,  without 
Stephan  s  trying  to  prevent  it,  as  it  would  have  been  the  duty  of  a 
minister  and  experienced  Christian,  and  thus  detracted  from  the 
Loi'd's  glory  "  (Pastor  Blucher).  It  did  good  to  his  heart  which 
was  naturally  inclined  to  pride,  nay  he  fostered  it  at  least  indi- 
rectly, by  often  emphasizing   the  dignity  of   the   ministry  in    a 


328  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

manner  touching  the  priesthood  of  the  Old  Testament,  as  also  by 
assuming  the  authority  of  God's  interpreter,  when  asked  for  his 
advice  in  domestic  affairs,  and  almost  claiming  infallibility. 

Thus  he  became  for  his  followers  more  and  more  an  indispensa- 
ble spiritual  adviser  who  enslaved  their  consciences  and  influenced 
the  manner  of  tkinhing  and  acting  of  his  parishioners  as  any 
Catholic  confessor^  His  declaration  ended  all  hesitation,  all 
disputes.  He  gave  divine  oracles  from,  the  tripod,  by  identfying 
his  ivord  with  the  tvord  of  God.  And  indeed  he  pronounced 
everything  with  such  a  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  human  nature, 
and  with  such  an  assurance,  that  simple  minds  especially  neces- 
sarily considered  his  sayings  and  his  advice  as  equivalent  to  God's 
word.  No  doubt  he  has  in  this  manner  given  good  advice  to 
many  and  prevented  them  from  many  follies ;  yet  on  the  whole 
he  very  much  hindered  the  souls  in  their  Christian  course  by  so 
doing,  nay  even  often  frustrated  in  them  the  beginning  work  of 
grace  ;  for  many  thought  it  now  sufficient  for  being  good  Christians, 
to  strictly  follow  Pastor  Stephan's  advice  and  prescription,  or 
even  only  to  be  in  outward  alliance  with  him,  and  as  it  were  to 
touch  the  hem  of  his  garment.  The  former  produced  a  Irgal  (or 
judicial)  manner  of  acting,  the  latter  an  external,  secular  (worldly) 
one,  which  now  principally  led  to  the  frequently  mentioned  and 
ill-reported  wi^/A;!/?/ promenades  and  meetings,  in  and  outside  of 
the  city. 

Before  discussing  these  more  at  length,  we  must,  indeed,  in 
justice  to  truth,  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  there  were  very 
different  degrees  of  Stephanites.  Some  only  attended  his  ser- 
mons, perhaps  even  the  confessional,  but  kept  aloof  from  the 
"  hours  "  (of  devotion)  and  from  intercourse  with  him.  The  mid- 
dle class  attended  the  sermons  and  the  "hours,"  honored  in  Ste- 
phan  more  the  teacher  than  the  minister  proper,  and  thought  to 
be  permitted  to  listen  also  to  other  faithful  preachers.  "  The 
Stephanites"  proper,  for  there  were  many  who  did  not  go  with 
him  to  extremes,  at  last  not  only  exclusively  attended  Stephan's 
church  and  devotional  exercises  only,  but  owned  him  as  their  min- 
ister and  spiritual  father  ;  many,  in  later  years,  as  him  on  whom 
alone  the  salvation  of  their  little  band  and  of  the-  Lutheran  Church 
depended.  These  formed  a  circle  close  around  the  master.  They 
principally  attended  the  "conversational  hours"  (Sprcchstunden), 
went  everywhere  in  quest  of  him,  accompanied  him  on  extensive, 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  329 

mostly  nocturnal,  walks  and  short  excursions  on  foot,  and  cele- 
brated the  day  as  a  holiday  when  Stephan  made  them  happy  by 
a  personal  visit.  Among  these  were  also  the  most  decided  Chris- 
tians and  men  of  the  be.st  civil  respectability,  yet  also  people  of 
very  unclean  minds,  uncharitableness  and  dubious  reputation. 

In  order  to  meet  the  social  wants  of  Christians  of  the  lower 
classes  (especially  of  artisans,  for  whom  there  were  not  then,  as 
now,  all  kinds  of  "associations"),  Stephan  caused  the  formation 
of  clubs  (" ffcschlossene  Gesellschaften"),  which  originally  served, 
in  an  entirely  lawful  manner,  only  the  purpose  of  recreation,  not 
of  edification,  and  were  moving  within  the  bounds  of  order  and 
of  decency.  This  club  was  invited  by  the  pastor  once  a  month, 
on  some  Sunday  evening.  On  a  joyful  feast-day  it  was  permitted 
to  bring  the  wives  and  daughters.  In  consequence  of  his  unfor- 
tunate habit  of  lucubrating,  however,  Stephan  never  made  his 
appearance  before  10  P.  M.,  which  therefore  turned  the  perfectly 
innocent  evening  gathering  into  a  lucubration,  which  was  gener- 
ally protracted  until  after  1  A.  M.,  and  gave  so  much  the  greater 
offence  to  the  world,  as  Stephan's  return  home  led  him  through 
one  of  the  most  suspicious  streets  of  the  city,  and  several  of  his 
followers,  with  their  wives,  used  to  accompany  him. 

With  these  evening  parties  soon  also  summer  parties  were  con- 
nected, which,  likewise,  ended  only  late  at  night,  often  even  on 
the  next  morning.  Stephan  was  completely  deaf  to  all  friendly 
representations  regarding  the  indecorum  of  these  nightly  meetings 
and  regarding  the  offensive  accusation  which  they  made  in  the 
world,  justifying  himself  on  the  ground  of  his  dietetic  welfare, 
and  could  not  even  then  be  dissuaded  from  them,  when  they  in- 
volved him  and  his  family  in  actual  vexations,  besides  producing 
the  saddest  consequences  in  other  families  (disturbance  of  domestic 
peace,  suits  for  divorce,  &c.) 

In  truth,  Stephan,  by  acting  thus,  gave  great  offence.  If  any  of 
his  followers  expressed  their  disapprobation,  they  made  themselves 
liable  to  be  excommunicated.  The  more  considerate  withdrew 
from  all  personal  intercourse,  but  still  continued  to  attend  his 
sermons.  The  excitement  in  the  city  against  Stephan  and  the 
Stephanites  continually  increased.  Boundless  opprobrium  and 
bitter  scorn  were  lavished  upon  them.  The  most  romantic  tales 
were  circulated  and  found  credence.  But  they  became  more  and 
more  insensible  to  the  hatred  of  the  world.     They  bore  "the  cross 


330  FIFTY   YEAKS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

for  Christ's  sake,"  "  the  disgrace  of  Christ !"  At  last  the  author- 
ities were  compelled  to  interfere,  when,  in  1835,  the  news  of  the 
Koenigsburg  hypocrisy  Q'  muckerei")  and  alleged  (scandalous) 
'developments"  {Entkuellungen)  y^Qxe  circulated  and  produced 
the  profoundest  moral  indignation.  The  police  succeeded  in  as- 
certaining one  of  the  secret  meeting  places,  and  surprised  the 
pastor  in  the  midst  of  his  flock  ;  yet  the  suspicion  of  "  Muckerei  " 
found  no  sufficient  support.  But,  to  obviate  any  further  offence. 
Pastor  Stephan  was,  in  the  same  year  (1835),  prohibited  by  the 
authorities  from  holding  any  nocturnal  meetings,  i.  e.,  such  as 
were  protracted  until  10  P.  M.  Stephan  promised  to  abide  by 
this  decision,  and  actually  conducted  himself  for  a  while  more 
cautiously.  Yet  soon  he  resumed  his  nocturnal  doings  more 
boldly  and  in  a  worse  manner  still. 

The  year  1830,  with  its  political  movements,  had  deprived  the 
Bohemian  pastor  of  the  direct  protection  of  his  poweful  patron, 
the  privy-minister  Count  Einsiedel  (1861)  ;  also  other  influential 
men  of  high  rank,  who  were  well  disposed  toward  him  (Minister 
von  Geobig,  President  of  the  Consistory,  von  Forber  and  others) 
had  died  or  resigned. 

To  the  most  exasperated  attacks,  the  most  violent  invectives  and 
abuses,  which  filled  the  public  prints  now  to  excess,  and  often  in 
the  most  unworthy  manner,  Stephan  opposed  comj^lete  silence  in 
public.  To  again  answer  them,  "  the  dear  minister  considered  as 
beneath  the  dignity  of  his  holy  office."  (Confession,  page  6). 
But  one  of  his  most  faithful  disciples,  candidate  Poeschel,  a  per- 
fectly pure  and  pious,  humble  soul,  but  entirely  taken  with  Ste- 
phan's  imposing  mind,  who  afterwards,  in  reward  for  his  confi- 
dent, unlimited  devotion  to  pastor  Stephan,  was  excommunicated 
by  the  latter,  on  account  of  an  alleged  difference  of  doctrine,  and 
still  he  says  :  "  Pastor  Stephan  is  a  conscientious,  honest  7nan ;  he  is 
what  he  jyretends  to  he,  an  old- Lutheran  preacher.'" 

With  the  Prussian  Old-Lutherans  Stephan  stood  always,  until 
after  1830,  in  intimate  communion  ;  with  the  fanatic  dissidents  in 
Wurtemberg  and  Baden  he  remained  closely  connected  until  the 
time  of  his  emigration.  But  in  Saxony  the  number  of  his  fol- 
lowers had  (especially  since  1827)  greatly  increased.  Many  of 
the  "  Lutheran  "  ministers  Avho  formerly  were  on  friendly  terms 
with  him,  he  now  denied,  and  uttered  calumnies  and  condemnations. 
He,  no  less  than  his  people,  assiduously  speaks  of  heretics,  bias- 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  331 

phemers,  despisers  of  the  Bible,  &c.  The  yoimg  mimskrs,  who 
were  devoted  to  him  with  Hind  covfidcnce,  and  wJto  formerly,  as 
candidates,  had  been  under  his  spiritual  care,  worked  entirely  in  his 
severe,  and  with  his  zealotic,  hierarchical  manner,  especially  pastor 
Kiel,  in  Wiedcrfrahne  and  the  brothers  Walther  (both  the  pastor 
and  substitute),  only  they  lacked  his  j)'>'udence.  Stephan  visited 
them  every  year  and  preached  to  an  immense  concourse  of  people 
in  their  churches.  He  had,  as  it  were,  his  "  stations"  throughout 
the  land,  which  were  waiting  for  his  wink. 

Discord,  severe  differences,  the  most  bitter  enmities  broke  out 
in  numerous  congregations  among  the  parishioners,  between  the 
pastor  and  his  flock,  as  also  with  the  neighbors,  in  consequence  of 
the  usurping,  zealotic  and  condemnatory  conduct  of  the  only  ortho- 
dox "  ecclesiolay  At  the  same  time  the  Stephanites  and  their 
head,  nevertheless,  complained  of  persecutions  and  oppressions, 
saying  that  God's  xoord  was  bound,  and  the  Lutheran  Church  in 
danger.  And  yet  both  secular  and  ecclesiastical  authorities  prac- 
ticed the  greatest  possible  and  wise  clemency  and  forbearance, 
whilst  they  were  bent  upon  martyrdom  ! 

The  doing  of  the  Bohemian  pastor  on  the  one  hand,  which  be- 
came more  and  more  bold  and  provoking,  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  power  of  excited  public  opinion,  which  became  still  more  ex- 
cited by  the  zealotic  conduct  of  Baron  Uckermaner,  a  Stephanite, 
with  his  fulminating  invectives  against  all  neologists,  heretics,  in- 
fidels, demagogues,  servile  persons,  &c.,  in  his  Ejnstlcs  to  Prof. 
Krug  (Sondershausen,  1837),  compelled  the  authorities  to  inter- 
fere. Even  the  Diet  ("  Landtag'' }  of  1837  took  the  affairs  of  the 
Stephanites  into  consideration,  treated  them  very  thoroughly,  and 
the  sharpest  speeches  were  heard  regarding  them ;  yet,  they  also 
found  warm  champions.  The  minister  of  religious  matters  ("  cultus 
minister")  von  Carlonitz,  felt  it  his  official  duty  to  notice  it  in 
the  Chamber. 

On  the  8th  of  November,  1837,  the  police,  charged  with  the 
strictest  vigilance  in  their  investigation,  succeeded  at  last  in  dis- 
covering a  number  of  Stephan's  friends  in  the  vineyard-house 
at  FFofiosswitz,  which  had  often  been  frequented  by  them  in  the 
dead  of  night,  and,  early  on  the  morning  following,  the  pastor, 
who  had  followed  them  with  his  usual  suspicious  female  com- 
panion, and  concealed  himself  in  the  vineyard,  and  arrested 
them.      The  question,  whether  religious  conventicles  were  being 


332  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

held  here,  was  most  decidedly  answered  in  the  negative  by  both 
Stephan  and  his  friends.  The  pastor  was  summoned  to  make 
his  appearance  in  Dresden  early  on  the  next  day  (November  9th), 
against  which  he  protested  most  solemnly.  Immediately  after- 
wards he  was  suspended,  and  so  remained  until  the  time  of  his  de- 
parture. Judicial  proceedings  against  Stephan  were  instituted  at 
the  Royal  Court  of  Justice,  during  which  he  did  not  recede  from 
his  obstinate  andsixchhorn  manner,  and,  which  is  much  to  be  regret- 
ted, took  recourse  even  to  JalseJiood  and  denial  oj  facts. 

Some  time  after  the  Bohemian  congregation  (1838)  handed  in 
(April  17th)  a  written  complaint  against  their  pastor,  which  they 
still  further  sustained  by  an  addition  under  date  of  July  5th  of 
the  same  year.  In  the  former,  Stephan  is  charged  with  the 
following  facts :  1.  Carnal  and  unchaste  conduct  (an  accusation 
founded  upon  statements  which  most  grievously  shock  every  better 
sentiment) ;  2.  The  dishonest  management  of  the  pecuniary 
interests  of  the  congregation,  and  3.  Manifold  neglect  of  his 
official  duties,  especially  with  regard  to  church,  school,  the  sick 
and  dying.  (Among  other  things,  they  complained  of  his  lying 
in  bed  until  towards  noon,  in  consequence  of  his  lewdness,  of  his 
commencing  the  Bohemian  service,  out  of  laziness,  one  or  two 
hours  after  the  appropriate  time,  &c.)  In  conclusion  they  apply 
for  his  final  suspension  from  office  and  the  appointment  of  another 
pastor.  They  pray,  first,  for  the  institution  of  proceedings  against 
pastors,  on  account  of  unfaithful  administration  of  funds,  pecula- 
tion and  fraud;  second,  they  protest  against  granting  him  a  pass 
for  emigrating  to  America,  as  long  as  he  shall  not  have  settled 
his  accounts,  delivered  the  correct  balances  of  the  funds  and 
inventory,  and  refunded  the  embezzled  and  peculated  amounts  of 
money,  as  also  the  amount  of  one  hundred  thalers,  borrowed  from 
the  property  of  the  congregation  against  his  note  of  hand,  but  jor 
which  he  had,  during  a  period  of  twenty-eight  years,  not  paid  any 
interest,  including  interest  and  cost;  finally,  they  asked  for  the 
confiscation  of  valuable  vessels,  documents  and  other  parts  of  the 
inventory  still  withheld  by  him. 

In  the  spring  of  1838  he  definitely  declared  it  to  he  his  ivill  that 
they  should  start  on  their  emigration  voyage  ;  and  then  a  delibera- 
tion committee  was  appointed,  and  installments  were  paid  in  to 
the  "  credit-fund." 

In  the  summer  of  1838  Stephan  had  again  taken  up  his  residence 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  333 

in  the  town  of  Radeberg ;  the  nightly  scenes  in  the  wood  and 
meadow  were  repeated,  and  consequently  also  the  measures  of  the 
police  to  suppress  them,  and  since  his  secret  escape,  even  without 
a  pass,  was  feared,  a  judicial  ex])edition  was  sent  after  him;  but 
early  in  the  morning  only  two  girls,  asleep,  were  found  in  his 
residence,  while  he  himself  had  departed  during  the  night  to 
Dresden  with  the  two  other  girls  (according  to  documentary 
evidence).  Here  now  he  was  kept  a  prisoner  in  his  own  house 
from  October  15th  to  24th  ;  yet  he  knew  cunningly  how  to  evade 
the  practical  efforts  of  this  measure. 

Every  one  awaited  the  issue  with  the  greatest  suspense ;  the 
Stephanites,  who,  ready  for  emigration,  had  partly  started  already, 
the  remainder  waited  anxiously  for  their  leader  and  shepherd,  in 
compliance  with  a  most  humble  direct  supplication  of  Stephan  to 
his  majesty  the  King,  (dated  October  20th),  the  two  pending 
judicial  proceedings  against  him  were  quashed  under  date  of 
October  23d,  1839 — provided  that  Stephan  would  give  bail  to  the 
amount  of  five  hundred  thalers  for  the  security  of  the  Bohemian 
congregation.  His  private  imprisonment  was  immediately  relaxed. 
In  the  hour  of  midnight,  between  October  27th  and  28th,  Stephan 
clandestinely,  and  without  taking  leave  of  his  family,  left  the 
city  with  post-horses,  in  order  to  join  the  emigrants  in  Bremen. 
There  the  "  ecclesia  pressa "  ("six  clergymen  with  about  seven 
hundred  souls,  among  whom  there  were  ten  candidates  and  four 
teachers")  had  gathered;  there  songs  of  the  exiles  Q' exulan- 
ienlieder")  were  published:  "to  such  an  extent  as  here  the 
disgraceful  worship  of  men's  persons  had  never  yet  been  carried, 
and  the  actual  idolatry  of  Stephan  was  rapidly  developed  upon 
the  sea  toward  its  worst  disgraceful  completion  in  St.  Louis." 
(Dr.  Vehse). 

Stephan  followed  the  ships  which  had  preceded  him  (there 
were  five  in  all,  of  which  the  "  Amalia"  was  lost)  with  his  "  staff," 
on  the  18th  of  November,  continued  his  lewd  debauchery  after 
having  passed  through  sea-sickness,  showing  himself  cowardly 
and  timid  during  the  dangers  of  a  storm,  preached  very  sel- 
dom during  the  voyage,  which  lasted  sixty-four  days,  "  partly 
from  laziness,  partly  to  make  himself  rare,"  but  becoming  strik- 
ingly more  and  more  exhausttd,  he  caused  his  vicar  to  preach 
a  series  of  sermons.  Knowing  how  to  silence  his  legal  coun- 
sel, and  fearing  a  separation  of  the  secular  and  spiritual  power, 


334  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

he  caused  the  office  of  a  hishojy  to  be  offered  to  himself  five 
days  before  their  arrival  in  New  Orleans.  Shortly  before  their 
arrival  in  St.  Louis,  Stephan  had  the  ill-reputed  declaration  of 
submission  drawn  up  upon  the  steamer  "  Selma,"  and  had  it  signed, 
bi/  way  of  an  oath,  by  all  the  men  and  vjomen  of  the  company.  In 
St.  Louis  itself,  vv^here  Stephan,  to  the  great  injury  of  the  emigrants, 
permitted  more  than  two  months  to  pass  unimproved,  the  bishop 
had  his  own  way  without  any  interference  whatever  ;  the  vestments 
of  the  bishop,  consisting  of  an  extremely  heavy  golden  chain, 
crook  and  mitre,  "were  made  ;  a  real  "rioting  "  was  carried  on  in 
the  "house"  of  the  bishop,  into  which,  to  the  general  scandal, 
more  and  more  young  women  were  introduced. 

At  last,  1839,  April  26,  the  bishop  departed  with  a  part  of  his 
company  to  the  colony  "  Wittenberg,"  Perry  county,  on  the  Mis- 
sissippi, which  in  the  meantime  had  been  purchased  ;  there,  on  ro- 
gation-day (May  5),  several  girls  made  the  first  disclosures,  in  the 
first  place,  to  Pastor  Lober,  of  indecent  intimacies  which  "the 
grey-haired  sensualist,  with  wicked  abuse  of  God's  holy  name  and 
word,  had  made  to  them  already  during  the  sea-voyage,"  and  af- 
terwards confirmed  them  by  oath. 

On  May  30th,  the  dejjosition  and  excommunication  was  pro- 
nounced upon  one  who  had  deceived  at  first  himself,  and  then,  for 
so  long  and  disgracefully,  hundreds  of  our  co-religionists.  On 
the  next  day,  with  a  compensation  of  one  hundred  piasters  and 
the  necessary  equipment,  he  was  exported  to  the  opposite  State 
of  Illinois,  whither  afterwards  his  concubine,  Gertrude,  who  re- 
mained faithful  to  him  unto  death,  followed  him.  There  he  died 
according  to  the  official  certificate  "  on  the  last  day,  or  during  the 
last  days  of  February,  1846,  in  Randolph  county,"  nearly  seventy- 
two  years  old.  The  rumors  of  his  return  to  Europe  are  without 
foundation.  Another  rumor  says  that  he  has  again  returned  to 
the  bosom  of  the  Catholic  church.  [Kurtz,  in  his  Church  History, 
so  aflirms.] 

Now  the  emigrants  had,  for  some  time,  to  pass  through  hard 
struggles  of  physical  Avant  and  internal  dissensions.  The  clergy- 
men would  not  very  soon  divest  themselves  of  the  hierarchical 
principles  which  Stephan  had  imparted  to  them.  At  last,  1S40, 
November  22d,  the  congregation  at  St.  Louis  held  an  extraordi- 
dinary  fast-day,  when  their  richly  endowed  pastor,  0.  Herm. 
Walther,  made  a  sincere,  profound  confession  of  repentance.    Grad- 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE   LUTHEKAN   MINISTRY.  335 

ually  also  the  external  condition  of  the  newly  founded,  now  well 
regulated,  congregations  was  much  improved. 

Dr.  C.  E.  Vehse,  who,  as  is  well  known,  was  on  most  intimate 
terms  with  Stephan  for  a  long  time  down  to  his  fall,  says,  among 
other  things,  "Stephan  is  a  psychological  enigma;  as  clever  a 
man  as  he  was  wicked.  I  must  say  even  now,  after  having  been 
so  fearfully  undeceived,  that  in  my  whole  life  I  have  never  heard 
anything  more  magnificent  than  his  addresses  in  the  devotional 
exercises  on  Sunday  afternoons.  Yes  indeed,"  adds  Dr.  Vehse 
"  on  the  other  hand,  after  all  nothrng  but  a  clcricalhnpostor." 

Pastor  L.  Fischer,  in  his  "  The  False  Martyrdom,"  while  de- 
nouncing him  as  an  apostate,  yet  speaks  in  appreciative  terms  of 
his  "firmness  of  conviction,  strength  of  character,  unbroken  courage, 
indescribable  zeal,  connected  with  energetic  straightforwardness 
and  Luther-like  sturdiness.  And  even  such  a  man  as  the  learned, 
pious  Franz  Delitzsch  writes  a  glowing  panegyric,  after  having,  in 
1836,  dedicated  his  first  w'ork,  "  Contributions  to  the  History  of 
Jewish  Poetry,"  &c.,  to  Pastor  Stephan  as  to  his  revered  teacher 
and  parental  friend  out  of  grateful  love.  With  reference  to  this, 
the  forementioned  L.  Fischer  now,  however,  says,  (p.  14,  "  The 
False  Martyrdom  ")  :  "  Stephan  s  spirit  is  and  remains  a  sectarian 
and  partisan  spirit,  who,  during  the  latter  part  of  his  career 
among  us,  had  no  longer  any  idea  of  (the  martyr)  Stephan  s  wis- 
dom and  joyfulness  of  faith,  nor  of  Luther  s  simplicity,  hut  who 
only,  in  self-assumed  clerical  dignity,  went  around  to  capture  and 
eiislave  innoceyit  souls ;  and,  although  branded  by  public  opinion 
and  abandoned  by  the  members  of  his  own  household,  yet  did  not 
cease,  in  his  unchristian  heedlessness,  to  scorn  Christian  freedom 
and  give  room  to  the  scofier."  (p.  52)  :  "  Not  so  much  the  doc- 
trine as  the  conduct  of  Pastor  Stephan  was  it  that  brought  about 
his  fall  in  Saxony."  (p.  29)  :  "  Stephan's  last  departure  from  his 
family  {in  which  he  was  a  real  tyrant)  is  crushing,  pitiless,  accom- 
pli.<5hed  with  cold,  rigid  eyes,  and  a  bold,  insolent  face." 

We  conclude  with  the  opinion  of  von  Polenz  ("  Public  Opinion," 
p.  17  sq.)  :  "  Stephan's  faith,  firm  as  a  rock,  in  the  Lord  and  his 
mercy  was  mo7'e  objective  than  a  subjective,  transforfning  one.  In 
his  constant  external  struggles  he  lost  more  and  more  that  inward- 
ness Q'  Innerlichkeit)  so  necessary  for  the  Christian,  and  became 
accustomed  to  the  torch  of  the  gospel  more  outwardly  than  in- 
wardly.      He  gradually  lost   all  that   he  always,  perhaps    even 


336  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

shortly  before  his  fall,  had,  in  so  rich  a  measure,  given  to  others  ; 
and,  in  fine,  he  was  more  a  servant  than  a  cldld  of  God."  (p.  77)  : 
"  He  presents,  as  it  were,  the  type  of  proud  solitariness,  of  one 
sided,  rude  separation.  And  accessible  as  he  was  only  to  his  own 
people,  who  almost  worshipped  him  as  an  idol,  he  would  have  had 
to  be  an  angel  if  the  idea  of  his  own  infallih^Iity  had  not  taken  root 
in  him.     This  idea  then  necessarily  passed  over  into  the 

MINDS  OF  his  followers  TO  SUCH  AN  EXTENT  THAT  THEY  BE- 
LIEVED    THEY    EXCLUSIVELY     REPRESENTED    IN     THEMSELVES,    NOT 

ONLY  THE  Lutheran,  but  also  th*e  Christian  Church,  and 

ADMITTED  OF  NO  SALVATION  OUTSIDE  OF  THEIR  CIRCLE." 

This  is  the  origin  of  that  powerful  and  influential  church  or- 
ganization, which,  in  less  than  forty  years,  has  erected  not  less 
than  one  thousand  places  of  worship,  numbers  over  six  hundred 
ministers,  established  three  colleges,  two  theological  seminaries, 
numerous  academies  and  parochial  schools,  and  orphan  houses. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  337 


THE  DEFINITE  PLATFORM. 


In  the  early  part  of  September,  1855,  most  of  the  leading 
ministers  connected  with  the  General  Synod,  received  through  the 
post-office  a  neat  pamphlet  of  forty-two  pages,  issued  as  was 
announced  by  Miller  and  Burlock,  printers  in  Philadelphia,  and 
bearing  the  name  of  "Definite  Platform,  doctrinal  and  discipli- 
narian, for  Evangelical  Lutheran  District  Synods,  constructed  in 
accordance  Avith  the  principles  of  the  General  Synod."  The 
author's  name  was  not  mentioned,  neither  was  there  any  intimation 
given  by  whom  it  was  sent.  Those  who  were  thus  complimented 
were  requested  in  the  preface  to  return  it  to  the  printers,  if  they 
did  not  desire  to  keep  it,  but  if  they  did,  to  remit  twenty-five 
cents  to  the  firm  in  Philadelphia ! 

The  pamphlet  had  a  mysterious  air  about  it.  It  was  a  child 
thrown  upon  the  Church  of  whom  nobody  was  willing  to  ac- 
knowledge the  parentage. 

I  distinctly  remember  that  one  of  the  unknown  authors  of  it 
was  in  my  study  when  it  was  received.  I  naturally  enquired  as  to 
its  origin,  and,  in  evident  confusion,  he  replied,  "Oh!  you  know 
well  enough  where  in  all  probability  any  attempt  to  change  the 
Confession  would  come  from."  Of  course  I  did.  To  the  credit 
of  this  gentleman,  I  will  here  add,  that  he  was  the  first  of  the 
triumvirate  of  its  authors,  who  had  candor  enough  to  admit  the 
fact  after  the  lapse  of  several  weeks.  He  felt  humbled  at  the 
idea  of  fighting  from  behind  a  tree  and  openly  avowed  that  he 
took  part  in  preparing  it.  The  other  two  never  made  a  public 
avowal,  though  they  were  well  known. 

The  introduction  to  this  "  Platform "  says,  "  The  following 
American  Recension  of  the  Avgshurg  Confession  has  been  prepared 

by  consultation  and  co-operation  of  a  number*  of  Evangelical 
Lutheran  ministers  of  Eastern  and  Western  Lutheran  Synods 
belonging  to  the  General  Synod,  at  the  special  request  of  Western 
brethren,  whose  churches  particularly  need  it,  being  intermingled 
with  German  Churches,  which  avow  the  whole  mass  of  the  former 

*  Only  three  were  ever  known  to  have  anything  to  do  with  itspreraration  either 
Dy  "  consultation  or  co-operation." 


338  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY, 

symbols.  In  this  revision  not  a  single  sentence  has  been  added 
tt)  the  Augsburg  Confession,  whilst  those  several  aspects  of 
doctrine  have  been  omitted  which  have  long  since  been  regarded 
by  the  great  mass  of  our  Churches  as  unscriptural  and  as  rem- 
nants of  Eomish  error." 

"  The  o»ly  errors  contained  in  the  Confession  (which  are  all 
omitted  in  this  Recension)  are — 

1.  The  approval  of  the  ceremonies  of  the  mass. 

2.  Private  confession  and  absolution. 

3.  Denial  of  the  divine  obligation  of  the  Christian  Sabbath. 

4.  Baptismal  regeneration. 

5.  The  real  presence  of  the  Body  and  Blood  of  the  Saviour  in 
the  Eucharist. 

"  With  these  few  exceptions  we  retain  the  entire  Augsburg  Con- 
fession, with  all  the  great  doctrines  of  the  reformation." 

Among  other  resolutions  contained  in  this  introduction  and 
recommended  to  be  passed  by  the  Synods,  was  this  : 

"  Resolved,  That  we  will  not  receive  into  our  Synod  any  minis- 
ter who  will  not  adopt  this  platform  and  faithfully  labor  to  main- 
tain its  discipline  in  his  charge." 

■  No  sooner  had  this  pamphlet  been  thus  secretly  distributed 
than  the  war  began,  which  continued  for  several  months.  Nearly 
every  issue  of  the  Observer  from  September  21,  1855,  to  May,  1856, 
contained  several  articles  either  in  opposition  or  vindication  of  it.' 
"  The  American  Lutheran"  party,  headed  by  Dr.  S.  S.  Schmuck- 
er  and  the  editor  of  the  Observer,  employed  their  best  talent  in 
its  defence,  and  exerted  all  their  power  in  the  Synods  to  have  it 
adopted,  and  yet,  with  all  their  influence,  only  three  Synods  at 
that  time  in  connection  with  the  General  Synod,  and  these  were 
the  Synod  of  Ohio,  the  Olive  Branch  Synod  of  Ohio,  and  the 
Synod  of  Wittenberg,  (Ohio),  the  leading  man  of  which  was  one  of 
the  triumvirate  who  built  the  Platform,  ever  adopted  it.  This  pro- 
tracted controversy  covered  the  whole  ground  of  the  subscription 
to  creeds,  as  well  as  of  the  doctrines  which  the  Platform  rejected. 
Some  able  men  on  both  sides  participated  in  it,  but,  besides  these, 
there  was  a  large  number  of  immature  scribblers  and  half  edu- 
cated fanatics  who  inflicted  their  undigested  nonsense  upon  the 
Church.  The  unhappy  editor  often  complained  to  me  of  the  an- 
noyance occasioned  by  the  reception  of  such  articles,  most  of 
which  he  was  obliged  to  publish  for  prudential  reasons. 


FIFTY   YEAKS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  339 

No  doubt  the  projectors  of  tliis  measure  were  amazed  at  the  op- 
position which  it  encountered  from  some  quarters.  Where  they 
expected  sympathy  they  received  stern  rebuke.  I  remember  that 
the  late  Dr.  D.  F.  Bittle  was  one  of  its  fiercest  opponents,  and  he 
was  before  that  presumed  to  be  on  "the  American  Lutheran" 
side. 

If  any  person  were  now  to  undertake  the  task  of  going  over 
this  whole  controversy  as  I  have  been  compelled  to  do,  he  would 
be  astonished  at  the  extremely  unlutheran  and  unchurchly,  and 
even  rationalistic  positions  assumed  by  some  of  the  disputants  on 
the  one  side,  and  the  moderate  and  yet  firm  churchly  tone  of  op- 
position on  the  other. 

The  following  resolutions  unanimously  passed  by  the  Synod  of 
East  Pennsylvania,  at  Lebanon,  1855,  represent  the  general  senti- 
ment of  all  those  in  the  Church  who  would  not  stand  on  "the 
Platform."  They  were  written  by  Rev.  Dr.  J.  A.  Brown,  at  that 
time  pastor  in  Reading  : 

Whereas  an  anonymous  pamphlet,  entitled  "Definite  Synodical 
Plaiform,,"  has  been  very  widely  circulated  in  the  Church,  and 
has  been  transmitted  to  the  members  of  this  Synod  generally ; 
and  whereas  the  inevitable  tendency  of  this  production  is  to  agi- 
tate, distract  and  divide  the  Church  by  the  introduction  of  changes 
of  the  gravest  character  in  the  confessional  position  and  ecclesias- 
tical and  fraternal  relations  of  the  various  sections  of  the  Lutheran 
Church  towards  each  other ;  and  whereas  this  Synod  most  deeply 
deprecates  such  an  agitation,  and  recoils  with  mingled  alarm  and 
abhorrence  from  the  intolerant  and  proscriptive  principles  here 
avowed  and  proposed  for  introduction  into  the  organic  structure 
of  our  Church  by  the  adoj^tion  of  such  a  creed,  and  its  arbitrary 
enforcement  upon  pain  of  exclusion  from  church-fellowship  of  all 
who  will  not  sanction  the  system  thus  proposed.     Therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  hereby  express  our  most  unqualified  disap- 
probation of  this  most  dangerous  attempt  to  change  the  doctrinal 
basis  and  revolutionize  the  existing  character  of  the  Lutheran 
Churches  now  united  in  the  General  Synod,  and  that  we  hereby 
most  solemnly  warn  our  sister  Synods  against  this  dangerous 
proposition,  express  our  most  earnest  hope  that  none  of  them  will 
either  engage  in  or  countenance  such  an  agitation,  but  will  use 
increased  diligence  "  to  keep  the  unity  of  the  spirit  in  the  bond  oj 
peace''  with  their  brethren  in  all  parts  of  the  Lutheran  Church 
who  hold  to  the  great  Evangelical  doctrines  of  the  Reformation, 


340  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

that  we  may,  if  possible,  be  daily  drawn  more  closely  to  each 
other  in  faith  and  love,  and  thus  be  prepared  to  labor  more  effi- 
ciently in  all  those  high  and  holy  enterprizes  for  the  edification 
of  the  Church  and  the  conversion  of  the  world,  to  which  the 
providence  of  God  and  the  plain  teachings  of  the  gospel  direct  us." 

These  resolutions  occassioned  alarm  in  the  minds  of  the  "  Plat- 
formists,"  who  vainly  believed  that  the  personal  influence  of 
their  leaders  would  ensure  it  a  general  acceptation,  but  never 
were  men  more  painfully  disappointed. 

After  it  was  discovered  that  the  Eastern  Synods  universally 
rejected  the  measure,  it  was  given  out  in  the  Observer  (October 
19th,  1855),  that  the  "  Platform  was  prepared  chiefly  for  the  use 
of  our  Western  Synods,  though  Eastern  ones  may  adopt  it  if  they 
like."  Thus  they  were  willing  that  the  Church  should  have  two 
Confessions  to  suit  different  latitudes.  It  was  asked  if  this  were 
so,  "  "Why  was  it  sown  broadcast  over  the  East  ?  why  was  there  no 
intimation  that  this  was  its  main  object?  why  were  Eastern  men 
employed  as  its  principal  constructors?  why  was  it  printed  in  the 
East  and  commended  so  carefully  to  the  Synods  in  connection 
with  the  General  Synod  ?  " 

But  they  were  still  more  accommodating.  One  of  the  authors 
of  i't  openly  acknowledged  before  the  Synod  of  Maryland  the 
same  year,  "that  it  was  intended  only  as  a  temporary  expedient, 
which  might  after  while  be  changed."  Immense  personal  efforts 
were  made  at  that  meeting  to  adopt  the  new  Creed.  Two  of  its 
originators  were  present  and  employed  all  their  personal  influence 
and  argument  in  vain.  Even  some  of  the  men  who  sympathized 
with  them  in  their  theological  views  and  general  church  policy, 
and  whom  they  thought  they  could  influence  in  almost  any  meas- 
ure, could  not  be  moved  to  mutilate  the  old  Confession,  and  their 
disorganizing  attempt  ingloriously  failed. 

For  nearly  two  months,  during  which  time  the  Observer  con- 
tained several  articles  on  this  subject  in  every  issue,  the  editor 
said  not  a  word,  but  finding  that  his  lighter  troops  were  being  fast 
demolished,  at  length  himself  entered  into  the  conflict.  He  em- 
ployed all  his  acknowledged  skill  in  argument,  all  his  wit  and 
sarcasm  in  several  long  columns,  for  three  successive  weeks,  in 
vindication  of  his  favorite  project.  Some  of  the  Synods  were  yet 
to  meet  daring  that  autumn  ;  but  not  one  of  them  which  met 
after  the  appearance  of  these  able  papers  was  convinced  by  their 
logic,  and  only  two  had  adopted  it  before  this  time. 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN   THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  341 

On  December  7th,  the  editor  iaformed  us  that  "  he  had  intended 
to  write  one  or  two  more  editorials  on  the  subject,  but  as  another 
brother  has  commenced  a  series  he  gladly  yields  the  field  to  him," 

These  new  articles  were  signed  by  S.  S.  S.,  and  this  is  the  first 
time  that  gentleman  appeared  in  print  upon  the  subject.  In  five 
successive  Observers  he  published  seventeen  columns  of  defence. 
The  articles  displayed  his  well  known  acuteness  and  extensive 
acquaintance  with  the  history  of  the  Church  and  of  her  creed. 
Every  candid  reader  gave  him  credit  for  the  ability  with  which 
he  handled  the  exciting  subject,  and,  although  he  may  have  con- 
firmed some  of  the  wavering  in  their  anti-confessional  tendencies, 
yet  he  did  not  secure  votes  for  the  Platform. 

After  S.  S.  S.  had  finished  his  long  articles,  the  editor  found  it 
necessary  once  more  to  come  to  the  rescue,  and  this  time  not  so 
much  in  favor  of  the  new  creed  as  against  some  of  his  over-^zeal- 
ous  friends.  They  began  to  talk  of  dividing,  "  setting  up  for 
themselves,"  "  getting  rid  of  the  old,  musty,  worm  eaten  "  Sym- 
bolical Books !  The  editor,  with  his  usual  astuteness,  saw  that 
this  spirit  of  secession  must  be  rebuked,  and  hence,  on  January 
25th,  1856,  came  out  in  a  two  column  editorial  severely  denoun- 
cing such  language  and  ideas.  He  knew  well  enough  that  his 
cherished  cause  would  be  endangered  by  such  proceedings,  and 
therefore  called  in  his  skirmishers,  who  were  imprudently  exposing 
their  cause.     It  had  the  efi"ect. 

On  February  1st,  1856,  he  begs  his  correspondents  to  "  stay  their 
pens  and  direct  their  attention  to  other  subjects,"  and  yet  tells 
his  readers  that  he  intends  to  publish  the  Platform  in  the  Ob- 
server, which  accordingly  appeared  in  full  in  the  number  for 
February  29th,  1856. 

At  this  stage  of  the  controversy,  several  compromises  were  pro- 
posed— a  sort  of  armistice  during  which  the  belligerents  should  lay 
down  their  arms  and  cease  from  the  conflict.  Out  of  them  grew 
what  was  called  "  A  Pacific  Overture,"  which  first  appeared  in 
the  Observer  of  February  29th,  1856.  It  was  signed  on  its  first 
appearance  by  twenty-three  ministers,  who  pledged  themselves  to 
"the  doctrinal  basis  of  the  General  Synod"  and  deprecated  the 
further  prosecution  of  the  controversy ;"  but  even  this  did  not 
terminate  the  war.  Numerous  other  articles  appeared  until  both 
parties  retired  from  the  battle  ground  from  pure  exhaustion,  but 


22 


342  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

never  since  that  day  have  any  attempts  been  made  to  foist  a  new 
creed  upon  the  Church. 

Various  articles  appeared  in  the  Evangelical  Review  upon  this 
vexed  question,  or  extended  allusions  to  it,  and  two  small  books 
were  written  in  opposition  to  the  Platform  ;  one  by  Rev.  John  N. 
Hoffman,  then  at  Reading,  which  he  called  The  Broken  Platform. 
It  contained  many  strong  arguments  and  damaging  facts,  but  the 
book  wtts  crudely  put  together,  hastily  prej)ared  and  carelessly 
composed.  It  was  not  equal  to  the  acknowledged  talents  of  the 
author.  He  was  a  man  of  mental  vigor  but  of  imperfect  educa- 
tion and  most  bilious  temperament. 

The  other  book  was  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Julius  W.  Mann,  of  Phila- 
delphia, entitled  A  Defense  of  the  Augsburg  Confessio7i,  a  most 
admirable  production,  which  powerfully  demonstrated  the  true 
docirine  of  the  Church  and  exploded  the  vaunted  pretensions  of  the 
new  Creed. 

An  occasional  sportive  allusion  is  still  made  to  the  Platform  in 
the  papers  by  men  who  were  active  in  the  Church  twenty-five 
years  ago  (1876),  but  it  has  made  so  little  impression  upon  the 
Church,  and  it  is  now  almost  universally  forgotten  or  remembered 
only  to  excite  compassion  for  good  men  who  were  guilty  of  the 
stupendous  folly  of  trying  to  force  it  upon  our  Synods.  Rcquics- 
cat  in  Pave. 

In  the  book  notices  of  the  Evangelical  Review,  Vol.  VII,  p. 
293,  we  find  the  following  : 

"  This  (the  Definite  Platform)  is  an  attempt  to  bring  into  practice 
and  give  reality  to  the  principles  set  forth  in  Dr.  Schmucker's 
'  Manual.'  TJiere  it  is  declared  that  the  Lutheran  Church  has 
rejected  certain  parts  of  the  Augsburg  Confession  and  other  Sym- 
bolical Books,  and  here  is  a  form  in  which  it  is  proposed  to  do 
this  !  It  seems  to  us  that  this  process  is  rather  awkward.  The 
Synodical  action  ought  to  have  preceded  the  authoritative  an- 
nouncement of  such  an  expurgation  ('  recension,'  as  it  is  here 
called)  of  the  Augsburg  Confession.  In  fact,  this  proposition  is 
an  admission  of  the  utter  groundlessness  of  the  assertions  made 
in  the  '  Manual '  as  to  the  present  position  of  the  Lutheran 
Church  in  connection  with  the  General  Synod.  Although  so  small 
an  affair  in  form,  this  brochure  of  forty  odd  pages  may  become  a 
most  serious  matter — may  serve  as  an  entering  wedge  for  split- 
ting and  dividing  the  Lutheran  Church  in  America,  not  only  from 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN   THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  343 

her  confessions,  which  stand  upon  an  immovable  rock  of  truth, 
and  from  the  reviving  Church  in  Germany,  which  begins  once 
more  to  gather  around  and  endeavor  to  take  its  stand  upon  this 
rock,  after  the  floods  of  infidelity  have  passed  over  it,  but  may 
also  be  the  means  of  splitting  the  gradually  uniting  church  here 
in  America  into  ten  thousand  scattered  fragments.  It  is  a  prop- 
osition, not  merely  to  adopt  Dr.  Schmncker's  emasculated  Augs- 
burg Confession,  but  to  pronounce  heretical  and  separate  from  and 
anathematize  every  one  who  does  not  do  so  and  who  will  not 
unite  in  a  wholesale  rejection  and  condemnation  of  all  the  other 
symbols  of  the  church — symbols  prepared  and  believed  by  so  many 
sainted  heroes  of  the  Church ;  the  great  testimony  of  Protestan- 
ism  against  Romanism,  and  of  the  Lutheran  Church  against  various 
forms  of  error  ;  and  its  solemn  testimony  to  the  great  truths  of 
the  gospel !  It  is  the  introduction  into  the  Lutheran  Church  of 
*  The  Act  and  Testimony '  of  the  old  school  party  in  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  by  which  that  body  was  first  agitated  for  years, 
and  finally  divided  into  two  hostile  parties,  whose  heart-burnings 
may  be  handed  down  from  generation  to  generation.  Only  it  dif- 
fers from  that  movement  which  was  intended  to  preserve  the 
Presbyterian  Confessions  in  their  integrity  and  purity.  But  we 
have  neither  time  nor  space  here  to  go  into  any  analysis  and 
proper  characterization  of  this  movement.  That  will  doubtless 
be  done  by  clearer  heads  and  stronger  hands  than  ours.  We  only 
give  our  simple  impressions  as  to  the  nature  and  tendency  of  this 
strange  proposition.  We  trust,  however,  that  no  Lutheran  Synod 
will  be  beguiled  into  the  awful  movement  here  so  abruptly  yet  so 
confidently  proposed  to  them — to  revolutionize  their  whole  pre- 
vious history  and  declare  separation  from  the  whole  Lutheran 
Church  of  the  past  and  all  their  brethren  in  the  present  who  hold 
1o  the  faith  of  the  fathers,  'the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints' 
at  Augsburg  and  Schmalkald,  and  reiterated  by  almost  every 
church  in  Germany  in  the  Form  of  Concord,  we  trust  no  Synod 
connected  with  the  General  Synod  will  be  prepared  to  adopt  the 
rescinding  process  proposed  by  this  pamphlet,  and  especially  set 
forth  in  these  words:  Resolved,  That  we  will  not  receive  into 
our  Synod  any  minister  who  will  not  adopt  this  platform  and 
faithfully  labor  to  maintain  its  discipline  in  his  charge." 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Lintner,  in  an  able  article  on  Church  Government, 


344  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

published  in  the  July  number  of  the  Evangelical  Review,  1S56, 
thus  expresses  himself  in  a  note,  page  1  9 : 

"  A  pamphlet  has  lately  appeared  among  us,  entitled,  'Definite 
Platform,  &c.,'  purporting  to  give  the  views  of  a  number  of  our 
ministers  who  '  desire  a  more  specific  expression  of  the  General 
Synod's  doctrinal  basis.'  It  has  been  circulated  through  the 
Church  with  a  view  to  its  adoption  by  the  churches  connected 
with  the  General  Synod  instead  of  the  present  basis  of  that  body. 
It  is  indeed  strange  that  an  overture  on  a  subject  of  so  much  im- 
portance as  changing  our  doctrinal  basis  and  introducing  a  ne^v 
standard  into  the  Church,  should  come  to  us  without  any  names  or 
ecclesiastical  authority  to  recommend  it.  When  changes  are  pro- 
posed, '  doctrinal  or  disciplinarian,'  affecting  the  interests  of  the 
whole  Church,  they  are  generally  recommended  by  Synods  or  con- 
ventions who  are  duly  authorized  to  do  so.  But  here  is  a  project, 
got  up  by  a  few  individuals  in  secret  conclave,  and  then  thrown 
out.upon  the  Church,  like  a  torpedo,  to  make  an  explosion,  with- 
out any  one  being  willing  to  assume  the  responsibility.  Perhaps 
it  was  deemed  the  wisest  course  by  those  who  were  engaged  in  the 
plot.  But  it  looked  suspicious  on  the  very  face  of  the  platform. 
It  showed  that  its  projectors  lacked  confidence  in  the  undertaking, 
and  it  was  regarded  by  many,  perhaps  most  of  the  readers  of  the 
pamphlet,  as  prima  facie  evidence  that  there  was  something  wrong 
in  it.  The  Platform  professes  to  be  a  review  of  the  Augsburg 
Confession,  to  adopt  it  to  the  circumstances  of  the  times  and  make 
it  more  acceptable  to  the  churches.  But  it  looks  more  like  a  la- 
bored attempt  to  stigmatize  it  and  make  it  odious.  It  does  not 
treat  the  subject  fairly.  It  takes  isolated  passages,  separates  them 
from  their  connection,  and  puts  constructions  upon  them  which 
are  not  Avarranted  by  the  general  sense ;  and,  by  this  dissecting 
and  mutilating  process,  it  presents  us  with  a  caricature  to  bring 
that  honored  and  sacred  instrument,  which  has  so  long  been  re- 
garded with  veneration,  into  disrepute  and  contempt.  The  at- 
tempt, however,  if  such  has  been  the  design,  has  failed,  and  may 
teach  a  useful  lesson  to  others  who,  in  future,  might  be  disposed 
to  engage  in  similar  attempts  to  break  down  the  hedges  which  the 
wisdom  and  piety  of  our  fathers  have  placed  over  Evangelical 
Zion." 

On  page  140  of  the  same  number  of  the  Review,  Dr.  Lintner 
relates  the  following  story  in  a  note  : 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  345 

"  Ministers  sometimes  involve  themselves  in  difficulties  by  at- 
tempting to  introduce  new  expedients  which  have  not  been  used 
and  approved  by  the  Church.  To  illustrate  this,  I  will  relate 
the  following  incident  which  occurred  not  long  since  in  one  of 
our  churches  :  An  honest,  conscientious  old  elder,  well  instructed 
in  the  doctrines  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  and  cherishing  a  high 
regard  for  the  Augsburg  Confession,  was,  one  day,  told  by  his 
minister,  that  he  was  going  to  introduce  a  new  Platform,  which 
would  do  away  the  necessity  of  adhering  any  longer  to  the  Augs- 
burg Confession.  The  elder  asked  him  to  explain  the  new  Plat- 
Jorni,  and  show  wherein  it  was  so  much  better  than  their  old 
confession  of  faith,  which  it  was  to  supersede. 

"  '  I  cannot  now  enter  into  the  subject  as  fully  as  I  wish,'  said 
the  minister,  'But  if  you  will  come  to  my  house  on  the  day  be- 
fore our  next  communion,  I  think  I  shall  be  able  to  convince  you 
that  we  need  something  different  from  the  Augsburg  Confession , 
and  that  the  proposed  change  will  remove  the  difficulties  under 
which  we  have  hitherto  labored.' 

"  On  the  day  appointed,  the  elder  repaired  to  the  house  of  the 
minister,  who  labored  hard  to  .persuade  him  that  the  Augsburg 
Confession  was  an  old  relic,  that  had  grown  out  of  date,  and  that  in 
this  enlightened  age  and  advanced  state  of  theological  science,  we 
needed  something  more  adapted  to  the  spirit  of  the  times  to  keep 
pace  with  the  improvements  going  on  all  around  us.  The  elder 
listened  attentively  to  all  this,  and  then  asked,  '  What  is  this 
new  Platform  you  are  speaking  of,  and  how  will  it  worl  in  our 
congregation?'  '0!'  replied  the  minister,  'It  points  out  all 
the  errors  of  the  Confession,  and  it  will  have  the  good  effect  of 
relieving  us  from  the  imputation  of  holding  to  those  errors.  Be- 
sides, it  will  show  us  what  parts  of  the  Confession  we  reject,  and 
what  we  believe.'  "  '"I  consider  the  Augsburg  Confession  correct 
in  all  fundamental  points  of  doctrine,  said  the  elder — I  always 
regarded  it  as  scriptural  and  evangelical.  Under  this  impression 
I  was  received  into  the  Church.  I  believe  so  still.  Such  is  the 
belief  of  the  body  of  our  Church.  You  were  called  to  be  our  pastor 
with  this  belief,  and  if  you  are  going  to  introduce  a  new  Platform, 
and  throw  away  the  old  Confession,  I  must  frankly  tell  you,  though 
it  grieves  me  to  say  so,  you  had  better  throw  up  your  call  and  leave 
us.'  'I  did  not  know'  said  the  minister,  'that  you  were  such 
a  strong  old  Lutheran.     I  am  sorry  now,  that  I  said  anything  to 


346  FIFTY    YEAKS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

you  about  the  matter.  But  let  us  leave  it  where  it  is,  and  pre- 
pare to  go  to  the  communion  to-morrow  without  having  our  minds 
disturbed  by  it;  for  on  the  day  of  judgment,  it  will  not  be  asked 
of  us  whether  we  have  stood  on  the  old  or  the  new  Platform.' 

There  is  one  aspect  of  this  Platform  subject  which  has  never 
been  fully  considered,  or  I  may  say,  even  looked  at.  The  General 
Synod  requires  its  members — that  is,  the  District  Synods,  to  stand 
upon  the  unaltered  Augsburg  Confession  of  1530,  and  hence  those 
which  adopt  the  Platform  stand  upon  a  different  basis,  and  rule 
themselves  out  of  the  General  Synod !  This  result  is  inevitable, 
and  yet  one  or  two  Synods  which  have  adopted  it  are  still  in  con- 
nection with  the  General  Body,  and  apparently  very  ardent  friends 
of  it.  This  inconsistency  has  been  permitted  to  exist  for  years, 
but  as  the  Platform  is  really  defunct,  and  is  rarely  mentioned, 
and  then  only  in  derision,  it  has  been  thought  best  not  to  pro- 
voke a  controversy  upon  that  subject.  It  is  not  a  pleasant  thing 
to  exhume  a  decomposed  corpse. 

From  the  Evang-elical  Review,  Yol.  VIII,  1857,  April. 

"The  attempt  to  introduce  a  new  confession  of  faith  into  the 
Lutheran  Church  of  the  United  States,  has  already  been  noticed 
in  this  journal,  in  various  ways.  The  author  of  the  work  to  which 
we  are  now  about  to  direct  attention,  has  displayed  great  literary, 
as  well  as  personal  activity  in  this  effort.  From  the  appearance 
of  his  '  Popular  Theology '  (in  1830),  to  the  book  now  before  us, 
all  his  publications  bearing  upon  the  Lutheran  Church  have  had 
this  tendency,  either  directly  or  indirectly.  The  whole  of  this, 
however,  culminated  and  took  its  most  distinct  and  proper  form  in 
the  '  Definite  Platform,''  which,  although  endorsed  by  others,  was 
properly  his  work,  both  in  design  and  execution.  The  opposition 
with  which  the  '  Platform  '  met,  not  only  from  our  theologians, 
but  from  the  great  mass  of  the  Church,  except  by  a  few  Western 
Synods,  and  a  few  of  our  Eastern  ministers,  trained  under 
peculiar  influences ;  this  almost  unanimous  opposition  to  the 
'  Platform,'  we  say,  necessitated  not  only  reiterated  apologies 
and  defences  of  the  Platform,  by  its  authors  and  advocates,  but 
even  a  very  considerable  modification  of  the  Platform  itself. 
The  Platform  as  originally  prepared,  not  only  contemplated,  but 
almost  in  so  many  words,  proposed  a  division  of  the  Lutheran 
Church,  professing  to  be  written  in  the  spirit  and  in  the  interest 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  347 

of  the  General  Synod  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  and  to  be  only  a 
legitimate  and  consistent  ap^^lication  of  its  principles,  '  constructed 
in  accordance  with  the  principles  of  the  General  Synod,'  says  the 
title,  ('  perfectly  consistent  with  the  doctrinal  test  of  the  General 
Synod  ' —  Preface  to  Definite  Platform,  page  2)  or  rather,  the 
proper  explanation  and  application  of  them  (Platform  page  4), 
it  was  here  proposed  (by  resolution  III)  to  ostracise  all  who  would 
not  unconditionally  receive  the  Platform,  and  its  interpretations 
and  misrepresentations  of  the  Augsburg  Confession  and  other 
symbols  of  the  Church  ;  in  a  word,  to  divide  the  General  Synod, 
by  refusing  fellowship  to  a  certain  part  of  its  members.  So 
prompt  and  decided  was  the  rejection  of  this  feature  of  the 
Platform,  by  the  great  mass  of  the  Church,  lay  as  well  as  clerical, 
wherever  it  was  understood,  that  the  leader  in  this  movement 
found  it  necessary  to  disavow  the  project,  and  it  was  declared 
that  this  was  not  the  design,  or  the  proper  sense  of  the  article, 
and  that  it  was  only  intended  that  ministers  should  receive  all 
the  doctrines  set  forth  in  the  altered  confession,  but  that  their 
adherence  to  the  unaltered  Augsburg  Confession  should  be  no 
bar  to  Synodical-fellowship !  And  yet  one  of  the  prominent 
reasons  urged  for  adopting  the  Platfoi'm  was,  that  the  Lutheran 
Church  was  rendered  odious  by  being  represented  as  holding 
certain  doctrines  of  the  Augsburg  Confession,  and  other  symboli- 
cal books,  and  that  they  wished  to  have  no  connection  with  so 
called  '  Old-Lutherans.' 

"  To  meet  this,  a  revised  edition  of  the  Platform  was  soon  pub- 
lished, with  some  verbal  alterations  and  notes,  which  only 
rendered  its  inconsistencies  the  more  glaring.  Thus,  for  example, 
whilst  it  is  said  in  the  last  paragraph  of  the  'Preface'  that 
'  Part  II  of  this  Definite  Synodical  Platform  is  not  a  part  of  the 
pledge  or  doctrinal  basis  to  be  individually  subscribed,'  &c.,  the 
preceding  paragraph  tells  us  that,  '  any  District  Synod  connected 
with  the  General  Synod  may,  with  perfect  consistency,  adopt 
this  Platform,  if  the  nnajoriiy  of  her  members  approve  of  the 
Synodical  disclaimer  contained  in  part  II,'  showing  very  clearly 
that  the  second  part  is  essential  to  the  whole  plan.  The  clause 
which  we  have  italicised,  is  also  added  to  the  revised  edition,  as 
the  absurdity  of  expecting  a  District  Synod  which  received  the 
Augsburg  Confession  entire,  to  adopt  the  Platform,  was  palpable. 
But  as  this  was  not  sufficient,  in  the  work  before  us,  we  have  not 


348  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

only  another  defence  of  the  Platform,  but  a  third  edition,  and  a 
new  metamorphosis  of  the  '  Definite  Platform,'  which  thus,  after 
all,  appears  to  be  very  indefinite,  and  to  need  more  alterations 
than  the  old  Augsburg  Confession  and  the  other  ^  former  Syrahol- 
ical  Boohs,'  so  much  decried  by  this  chameleon-like  document. 
Here,  in  an  appendix,  we  have  a  '  Definite  Platform,  being  the 
doctrinal  basis  or  creed  *  *  *  constructed  in  accordance 
with  the  principles  of  the  General  Synod.'  To  say  nothing  of 
the  new  Preface,  which  is,  however,  a  very  diflferent  thing  from 
both  its  predecessors,  we  only  observe  that  all  traces  of  the 
ostracising  and  exscinding  process,  so  zealously  and  definitely 
urged  in  the  two  editions  preceding,  are  here  carefully  removed. 
Part  second  is  omitted  bodily,  and  the  whole  is  razed  down  to  a 
simple  avowal  of  belief  in  certain  articles,  altered  and  unaltered, 
of  the  Augsburg  Confession,  together  with  the  presentation  of 
some  motives  for  this  alteration  of  the  long  established  faith  of 
the  Church." 

We  cheerfully  admit  that  this  is  some  improvement  so  far  as 
regards,  not  only  the  style  and  language  of  the  article,  though 
these  are  not  yet  rendered  by  any  means  faultless,  but  still  more 
the  matter,  of  which  the  less  we  have  the  better.  And,  in  view 
of  these  facts,  we  should  think  that  few  will  regard  the  omens  of 
permanence  in  this  new  Confession  as  by  any  means  promising. 

"  But  our  main  object  at  this  time  is  briefly  to  examine  the  new 
reasons  here  urged  in  defence  of  this  somewhat  fluctuating  Plat- 
form, which  seems  to  have  been  called  '  definite '  upon  the  princi- 
ple of  the  Eoman  etymologist,  who  says  that  '  lucus '  is  derived 
'  a  non  lucendo.'  " 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  349 


MODE  OF  WOHSHIP-GULT-LITUHGY,  &c. 


Until  about  tlie  year  1850,  the  liturgical  services  at  the  ordi- 
nary worship  in  our  Churches  were  exceedingly  simple.  A  few 
of  our  old  German  ministers  had  a  very  brief  altar  service,  which 
consisted  usually  of  an  invocation  and  the  reading  of  the  scrip- 
ture lesson,  but  there  was  no  general  confession  of  sins,  and  the  creed 
was  not  recited.  The  large  majority  of  our  ministers  had  nothing 
of  this  character,  and  practiced  the  mode  of  worship  common 
among  Presbyterians  and  Methodists.  In  baptisms  and  commu- 
nions most  of  them  read  or  recited  the  form  prescribed  in  the  lit- 
urgy, and,  a  few  of  them,  also  at  marriages  and  funerals.  But 
there  was  no  uniform  practice,  and  each  man  did  as  he  liked.  In 
many  churches  the  choir  sang  a  preliminary  anthem,  and  that 
even  was  not  considered  by  all  ministers  a  part  of  the  worship,  for 
I  have  heard  men  after  the  choir  had  finished  their  performance 

rise  and  say,    "Let   us  begin   our  worship  by  singing  the     

hymn." 

Many  of  our  men  were  anxious  for  a  change,  and  maintained 
that  the  people  should  take  a  more  active  part  in  the  service  than 
merely  listening  to 'the  preaching  or  joining  in  the  singing,  which 
many  did  not  do.  They  held  that  our  service  was  too  bald  and 
uninteresting, — that  worship  did  not  consist  in  merely  going  to 
church  and  hearing  a  sermon,— that  the  sanctuary  itself  should  in 
its  inner  decorations  present  an  appearance  different  from  a  plain 
school-house  or  a  large  room  fillfid  with  benches  and  a  pulpit. 
Thus,  by  degrees,  our  churches  came  to  be  carpeted,  which  was  en- 
tirely unknown  in  most  houses  of  worship  fifty  years  ago,  and 
even  some  of  them  twenty-five  years  ago,  ventured  upon  stained 
glass  for  their  windows,  which  was  severely  objected  to  by  some 
who  claimed  to  be  "spiritually  minded"  above  their  fellow  mem- 
bers. Gradually  figures  of  saints  and  bible  scenes  and  crosses 
were  represented  on  the  stained  glass,  and  these  gave  offence  to 
some,  and  soon  crosses  made  of  flowers  were  erected  in  the  chan- 
cel on  Christmas  Sunday-school  celebrations,  and  soon  after  crosses 


350  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

made  of  various  materials  were  introduced  as  permanent  fixtures. 
People  soon  get  accustomed  to  tliese  things,  if  they  are  brought 
in  hy  degrees.  I  remember  the  time  when  flowers  on  the  com- 
munion table  or  on  the  pulpit  would  have  been  considered  po- 
pish, but  now  that  ornament  to  a  well  ordered  church  is  very 
common. 

When  chanting  was  introduced  about  thirty  years  ago,  it  was 
violently  opposed  by  the  Observer,  which  gave  tone  to  the  senti- 
ment of  a  large  number  of  ministers.  When  our  little  chapel  at 
Lutherville  was  consecrated,  the  editor  of  the  Observer  and  sev- 
eral other  men  of  like  mind  were  present,  and  when  the  choir 
chanted  the  Lord's  Prayer,  these  men  looked  at  each  other  with 
evidence  of  painful  uneasiness,  and  I  would  not  have  been  sur- 
prised if  they  had  abruptly  left  the  house,  but  those  of  them  who 
yet  survive  have  happily  changed  their  minds. 

The  Sunday  morning  liturgy  as  it  is  now  embodied  in  the  Gen- 
eral Synod's  Book  of  Worship,  was  by  slow  degrees  introduced, 
and  it  is  not  yet  universal.  It  was  proj^osed  and  adopted  by  the 
Synod  of  Maryland  in  1864.  Some  of  us  at  first  recited  the  con- 
fession only — that  was  tolerated,  and  to  diversify  the  service,  we 
wrote  other  confessions  and  used  them,  coming  back  however  to 
the  old  confession  about  once  a  month — and  then  we  would  occa- 
sionally recite  the  creed  and  the  Gloria  Patri  as  a  part  of  the 
prayer,  until  the  people  became  accustomed  to  it,  and  then  every 
few  weeks,  we  would  read  the  whole  as  it  is  set  forth  in  the  book. 
The  difficulty  was  to  have  the  choir  chant  the  Gloria  in  JExcelsis 
without  disturbing  the  pious  equanimity  of  some  of  our  saints, 
but  they  admired  the  music,  and  we  took  occassion  to  gratify 
them  nearly  every  Sunday,  until  at  length  the  whole  service  was 
introduced,  and,  now  most  of  them  like  it.  But  a  still  greater 
difficulty  was  to  be  met,  and  that  was  the  response  from  the  con- 
gregation, but  even  this  was  overcome  by  their  consideration  of 
its  manifest  propriety,  and  especially  by  their  being  told  that  the 
people  should  exercise  their  right  of  participating  in  the  service 
to  a  greater  extent  than  merely  hearing  a  sermon  and  feebly  sing- 
ing the  hymns,  and  especially  by  hearing  the  Sunday  school  in  an 
impressive  responsive  service.  Many  of  our  ministers  have  not 
yet  been  able  to  introduce  the  liturgy.  I  know  several  who  re- 
cite it  in  jDart  by  mingling  it  with  other  portions  of  the  service, 
and  I  know  one  whose  church  permits  him  to  use  it  all  excpting 
the  creed. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  351 

The  pity  is  that  we  do  not  all  use  the  same  prescribed  liturgy. 
That  of  the  General  Synod  di Iters  to  some  extent  from  that  of 
the  General  Council.  That  of  the  latter  is  more  complete,  al- 
though theirs,  like  ours,  is  far  from  being  universally  used.  Very 
few  country  churches  in  either  body  use  the  Sunday  liturgy,  but 
it  is  by  degrees  working  its  wholesome  way. 

Many  of  our  good  people  have  the  erroneous  idea  that  Utiirgik 
and  symboUk  are  necessarily  concomitant.  Facts  disprove  that 
assumption.  Not  a  few  of  our  General  Synod  men  who  are  not 
suspected  of  strong  confessional  leanings  are  still  ardent  suppor- 
ters of  the  liturgy,  and  the  Missourians,  who  are  distinguished  for 
their  symbolism,  have  little  or  no  liturgy  as  we  understand  the 
word.  Their  altar  service  is  more  simple  than  that  of  most  of 
our  own  unliturgical  churches. 

This  whole  subject  was  fully  discussed  in  the  Observer  twenty- 
five  years  ago,  and  sometimes  in  a  spirit  not  the  most  amiable.  The 
argument  of  the  opposition  was  for  the  most  part  grounded  upon 
the  assumption  that  the  use  of  the  liturgy  and  strong  adherence 
to  the  confession  were  evidences  of  a  decline  of  piety.  This  must 
be  admitted,  if  by  piety  was  meant  the  extravagance  and  fanati- 
cism which  were  so  popular  at  that  day,  and  which  presumptuously 
arrogated  to  itself  an  exclusive  right  to  that  sacred  name. 

THE  USE  OE  THE  CLERICAL  GOWN 

has  not  become  general,  and  the  most  of  those  churches  in  which 
it  is  worn  by  the  minister,  introduced  it  with  their  origin.  There 
are  very  few  indeed  which  have  adopted  it  as  a  new  element, 
after  they  had  been  in  existence  for  some  years  without  it.  It  is 
an  innovation  which  few  would  sanction,  and  it  has  never  been 
considered  of  sufficient  importance  to  awaken  much  interest  in  the 
Church. 

There  is  no  established  mode  of  worship  among  us.  There  is  no 
judicatory  that  would  assume  the  right  to  do  it.  Every  minister 
consults  his  own  inclination  or  taste,  but  it  is  not  every  one  whose 
taste  is  gratified.  There  are  some  who  would  like  to  introduce 
the  full  liturgy,  but  they  are  opposed  ;  and  there  are  a  few  who 
would  like  to  abolish  it,  but  they  are  not  permitted  to  do  so  by 
the  pQople.  The  habit  of  reciting  the  Lord's  prayer  at  the  end  of 
the  sermon  is  common,  but  I  know  of  but  one  minister  who  has 
introduced  the  "new  measure"  of  having  the  doxology  sung  at 


352  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

the  beginning  of  the  service  instead  of  the  close,  which  is  the  old 
and  almost  universal  custom. 

Under  this  head  may  properly  be  introduced  the  subject  of 

PRAYER-MEETINGS, 

which  are  at  present  much  more  common  than  they  were  fifty 
years  ago.  It  was  seldom,  at  that  time,  that  lay-men  were  called 
upon  to  pray  in  public,  and  yet  it  was  not  unknown.  When  I 
was  a  boy.  Dr.  J.  G.  Schmucker  held  a  meeting  of  this  kind  every 
week,  and  I  presume  there  were  others,  in  which  lay-men  led  in 
prayer. 

The  subject  of 

WOMEN    PRAYING   IN    PROMISCUOUS    ASSEMBLIES 

was  made  a  matter  of  discussion  only  about  thirty  years  ago.  The 
Observer  contained  numerous  articles  upon  it,  and  even  until  as  late 
as  ten  years  ago  some  zealous  advocate  of  the  cause  would  occasion- 
ally insist  ujion  being  heard  in  its  defence.  But  the  subject  has 
been  laid  aside,  probably  never  to  be  revived  again. 

There  was  a  singular  practice  in  vogue  in  a  few  of  the  old  time 
German  Lutheran  Churches,  and  this  was  that  at  the  meeting  prepar- 
atory to  the  Lord's  Supper,  {Die  Beicht),  the  minister  called  upon 
some  one  in  the  congregation  to  confess  the  sins  of  the  people,  and 
as  few  of  the  men  felt  themselves  competent  to  do  it,  it  usually 
fell  to  the  lot  of  some  pious  old  woman.  I  have  witnessed  this 
scene  myself  in  old  Zion's  Church,  in  Baltimore,  when  Dr.  D. 
Kurtz  was  pastor.  We  all  knelt,  and  this  mother  in  Israel  led 
us  in  a  fervent  acknowledgment  of  sin,  and  this  was  done  in  the 
Church  when  the  minister  was  present,  and  upon  his  invitation. 
I  thought  it  very  singular  and  have  never  heard  it  repeated. 

There  are  still  many  subjects  which  merit  notice,  and  some  of 
them  to  a  greater  extent  than  my  space  will  allow,  but  I  will 
briefly  state  them,  and  those  who  hereafter  continue  these  Remin- 
iscences may  enlarge  upon  them. 

THE    METHOD    OF    PREACHING 

has  changed  considerably  within  the  past  fifty  years.  Beading 
sermons  in  the  pulpit  was  almost  entirely  unknown  forty  years 
ago.  A  few  ministers  who  preached  English  read  from  the 
manuscript ;  but  it  was  unknown  among  the  German  preachers. 
The  practice  was  introduced  with  the  establishment  of  our  The- 
ological Seminaries  and  by  the  influence  of  Puritan  theology  and 
example.     I  will  not  say  that  it  was  affectation  and  a  weak  im- 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  353 

itation  of  distinguished  preachers,  but  it  has  gradually  gained 
popularity,  and  many  congregations  now  patiently  endure  what 
would  have  been  a  heavy  yoke  to  their  fathers.  Many  of  our 
young  preachers  now  read  their  sermons,  and,  I  presume,  that  the 
practice  will  grow,  so  that  afterwhile  among  our  young  English  min- 
isters it  will  become  almost  universal.  Some  of  our  old-fashioned 
churches,  however,  will  not  suffer  it,  and  insert  in  their  calls  for 
a  pastor  a  condition  that  he  is  not  to  read  his  sermons. 

Some  of  our  men  commit  their  discourses,  which  is  a  slavish 
business,  of  which  they  soon  grow  tired  ;  others  do  not  even  pre- 
pare skeletons  but  trust  to  their  fluency  of  speech  and  strength  of 
their  lungs,  but  they  soon  degenerate  to  the  baldest  superficiality 
and  unedifying  repetition.  I  believe,  however,  that  our  conscien- 
tious men  who  do  not  read  in  the  pulpit  carefully  write  out  an 
extended  skeleton,  and  take  it  with  them  into  the  pulpit  or  com- 
mit it  to  memory. 

This  is  not  the  place  for  a  discussion  of  the  relative  merits  of 
various  styles  of  preaching,  but  I  do  not  regard  the  growing 
prevalence  of  reading  their  sermons  by  our  ministers  as  an  evi- 
dence of  their  increasing  usefulness,  to  say  the  least. 

As  to  the  matter  of  preaching  of  the  present  day,  compared 
with  the  olden  time,  I  would  decidedly  say  that  it  is  not  as  solid, 
nor  as  well  elaborated,  and  of  course,  not  as  instructive  as  was 
that  of  the  pious  and  orthodox  Fathers.  There  is  much  good 
preaching  at  present;  more  in  quantity  than  there  was  fifty  years 
ago,  for  there  are  ten  times  as  many  ministers;  the  preaching  of 
the  present  day  is,  for  the  most  part,  more  ornate,  and  highly 
polished,  but  it  is  not  more  methodical  or  systematically  ar- 
ranged, nor  so  fully  illustrated  by  Scripture.  Many  of  our  mod- 
ern sermons  are  mere  homilies — essays- — dissertations  on  a  given 
theme,  without  unction  or  religious  force  ;  and  very  little  Scripture. 

Sacred  or  church  music 
lias  made  a  decided  progress  in  these  last  days.  The  German  sing- 
ing, years  ago,  was  anything  but  artistically  refined  or  scientific. 
In  most  places  it  was  a  slow,  dragging,  unmusical  utterance  of 
notes,  led  by  a  school-master  or  an  elder  without  taste  or  knowl- 
edge, and  followed  by  a  congregation  of  whom  every  one  seemed 
to  try  at  out-singing  his  neighbor. 

In  the  English  Churches  or  in  English  singing  there  was  a 
little  improvement,  but  not  much,  especially  where  they  had  the 


354  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY. 

German  leader  or  organist.  In  most  of  the  country  churches  the 
hymns  were  lined  out,  which  is  destructive  to  all  devotional  and 
edifying  singing.  Many  of  the  German  churches  had  organs,  but 
these  were  for  the  most  part  most  shockingly  played,  and  did 
nothing  but  contribute  to  the  horrible  din  and  confusion  of  the 
singing.  There  were  few  scientific  performers  in  our  Churches, 
and  the  instruments  were  generally  of  a  very  inferior  character. 
Everybody  knows  what  church  music  is  at  present — the  super- 
ior musical  training  of  many  of  our  young  people — the  employ- 
ment of  competent  leaders  and  organists,  the  vast  improvement 
in  church  instruments,  and  the  introduction  of  a  higher  style  of 
music,  have  contributed  unspeakably'  to  the  advantage  of  that 
important  part  of  public  worship. 

THE  EMBELLISHMENT  OF  THE  CHURCH  WITH  FLOWERS, 

now  SO  common,  was  altogether  unknown  fifty  years  ago.  Whether 
it  was  owing  to  a  lack  of  refined  taste  or  dread  of  an  approximation 
to  popish  worship,  it  would  be  hard  to  tell,  but  flowers  were  never 
seen  in  any  of  our  Churches  until  about  twenty  years  ago.  I  do 
not  know  where  they  were  first  introduced  and  whether  the  prac- 
tice owes  its  origin  to  Sunday  School  celebrations  or  to  the  con- 
gregation. It  is  now  firmly  established,  and  will  never  be 
abolished.  There  is  an  evident  propriety  and  beauty  in  it,  and 
nobody  objects  to  it. 

THE    INTRODUCTION    OF    STAINED    GLASS 

into  the  windows  of  our  Churches  was  unknown  until  within 
twenty-five  years  ago.  It  was  regarded  as  popish,  and  more  so 
when  it  had  any  figure  of  the  cross  or  of  angels  or  saints  upon  it. 
Now  it  is  very  common,  and  scarcely  any  new  church  is  built 
which  has  not  stained  glass,  more  or  less  ornamental,  in  its  win- 
dows. It  is  no  longer  considered  popish.  I  distinctly  remember 
when  its  introduction  first  began,  that  the  Observer,  ever  jealous 
of  all  other  new  measures  except  The  Anxious  Bench,  warned 
the  Churches  against  all  such  innovations,  and  represented  it  as 
confined  exclusively  to  the  Old  School,  High  Church,  Anti-Re- 
vival Lutherans.  The  Observer  was  horrified  and  trembled  for 
the  Ark  of  the  Lord,  when  he  heard  that  a  new  church,  recently 
built  by  one  of  his  most  attached  friends  and  advocates,  had  not 
only  stained  glass  in  every  window,  but  that  the  glass  bore  fig- 
ures of  Christ  and  saints,  and,  above  all,  seven  crosses  in  the  vari- 
ous windows  ! 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  355 

Inscriptions  upon  the  walls  and  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  Ten 
Commandments  were  not  so  uncommon  in  the  olden  time,  and  I 
wish  they  were  more  freqwently  met  with  at  present. 

FRAMED   PICTURES    OR   SCRIPTURE   SCENES 

upon  the  walls  were  only  occasionally  seen,  and  are  not  usual  now, 
although  appropriate  and  edifying.  The  old  Church  at  York,  be- 
fore it  was  demolished  to  make  room  for  the  present  building, 
had  a  Scripture  scene  painted  upon  every  panel  of  the  gallery, 
but  they  were  horrible  caricatures  as  productions  of  art.  Some 
Churches,  built  within  the  last  twenty-five  years,  have  large  Scrip- 
ture scenes  painted  on  the  wall  behind  the  pulpit,  which  have  a 
very  wholesome  effect. 

The  Missouri  Lutherans  have  crucifixes  on  the  altar  and  lighted 
candles  during  the  Sacrament. 

There  were 

NO   COAL    FURNACES 

below,  nor  large  coal  stoves  in  the  body  of  the  Church  fifty  years 
ago,  and  the  result  was  that  places  of  worship  were  imperfectly 
heated,  which  kept  many  old  and  weakly  people  away.  I  re- 
member seeing,  in  my  boyhood,  some  pious  old  ladies  carrying  a 
hot  brick  wrapped  in  a  piece  of  carpet,  to  church,  to  put  their  feet 
on,  and  those  who  came  from  a  distance  would  first  put  the  brick 
on  the  hot  stove  to  heat  the  brick  thoroughly  before  using  it. 
Nothing  but  wood  consuming  stoves  were  used,  and  they  were 
usually  placed  as  high  from  the  floor  as  possible.  The  result  was 
that  the  floor  was  never  heated,  and  the  feet  of  the  people  always 
cold.  The  sexton  would  regularly  go  round  and  stir  the  fire, 
whilst  the  minister  was  preaching,  and  make  as  miich  fuss  as  2:)0ssi- 
ble  to  show  his  earnestness  in  duty. 

In  the  olden  times  it  was  the  practice  in  many  churches  to 
gather  the  pennies  in  a  little  hlach  hag  attached  to  a  long  black 
pole.  At  the  lower  part  of  the  bag  there  was  a  little  bell,  and 
you  can  imagine  the  noise  when  three  or  four  were  tinkling  at 
the  same  time.  It  was  said  that  the  bells  were  intended  to  rouse 
up  the  sleepers.  When  the  bag  became  heavy  with  pennies,  an- 
other deacon  would  follow  the  collectors  and  empty  the  bag  into 
his  hat,  and  thus  relieve  the  collector. 

There  was  no 

GAS    LIGHT 

in  those  days,  but  the  Churches  were  imperfectly  lighted  with 
candles  or  odorous  fish  oil.     Twice  during  the  service  the  sexton 


356  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

would  consider  it  his  duty  to  top  the  candles,  either  hauling 
down  the  chandelier  with  a  rope  or  stand  upon  a  step-ladder.  He 
would  even  ascend  the  pulpit,  which  was  usually  high,  and  per- 
form, the  duty.  Everybody  of  course  looked  at  him,  and  when 
he  would  top  one  out,  as  was  often  the  case,  there  was  an  audible 
expression  of  merriment  or  wonder,  or  it  may  be  of  sympathy, 
over  the  whole  house. 

The  custom  of  the  men  standing  and  holding  their  hats  before 
their  face  while  offering  a  short  prayer,  when  arriving  at  their 
places  in  Church,  was  very  common  fifty  years  ago,  but  is  now 
almost  abolished  in  the  town  Churches.  You  sometimes  see  it  in 
the  German  Churches,  but  it  is  not  common. 

KNEELING   AT    THE    COMMUNION 

is  a  modern  innovation  among  us.  It  was  not  practiced  in 
the  olden  times.  I  do  not  know  when  it  was  introduced,  but  it 
was  not  simultaneous.  It  gradually  came  into  fashion,  apd  has 
not  yet  become  universal.  I  do  not  think,  although  it  may  be 
so,  that  the  practice  came  in  with  our  advanced  views  of  the  Sac- 
rament which  have  arisen  within  twenty  years.  It  cannot  be  this 
entirely,  for  I  know  men  who  have  very  low  conception  of  the 
real  presence  who  also  kneel  at  the  Lord's  Supper. 

Not  very  long  ago  a  country  minister,  in  whose  church  the 
Synod  was  held,  rebuked  me  for  kneeling  at  the  altar,  in  which 
all  the  ministers  followed  me,  of  course.  He  said  his  people  had 
never  seen  it  before.  Some  of  them  woiild  be  offended  at  it, 
whilst  others  would  like  it,  and  perhaps  practice  it  themselves, 
and  thus  confusion  would  be  created. 

WAFERS 

were  generally,  though  perhaps  not  universally,  used  in  the  Sac- 
rament by  our  fathers.  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  out  when  or 
why  leavened  bread  was  first  used.  I  presume  that  few,  or  per- 
haps none  of  our  English  churches,  established  within  forty  years, 
use  the  wafer  ;  neither  do  all  the  German.  Some  have  bread  and 
wafer  on  the  same  plate,  and  leave  the  communicants  take  their 
choice.  This  is  the  case  in  churches  of  which  some  members  have 
been  brought  up  in  the  Reformed  Church.  They  prefer  the  bread 
and  accommodation  to  their  preposessions  as  practiced.  This 
practice  is  severely  condemned  by  orthodox  Lutherans  among  us ; 
not  because  there  is  leavened  bread  upon  the  plate,  but  because 
there  are  both  wafer  and  bread.     It  seems  to  them  to  be  a  sort 


FIFTY  YEARS   IN   THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  357 

of  compromise  between  Zwinglianism  and  Lutheranism,  which  is 
not  just;  they  are  satisfied  with  either  one  or  the  other,  for  the 
kind  of  bread  is  nothing  essential,  and  the  true  Lutheran  can  dis- 
cern the  Lord's  Body  in  either,  but  for  a  Lutheran  pastor  to  have 
both  is  regarded  as  a  dangerous  indifierence  to  the  true  doctrine, 
and  something  more  than  a  sanction  of  the  Zwinglian  error. 

This  has  never  been  a  subject  of  discussion  in  the  Churches  of 
the  General  Synod.  Ordinary  bread,  for  the  most  part,  has  been 
used  ever  since  the  establislimeut  of  English  churches.  There 
may  be  a  few  exceptions,  but  I  am  not  aware  of  them,  but  I  am 
certain  that  bread  and  wafers  were  never  used  at  the  same  time, 
giving  the  privilege  to  the  communicant  to  take  which  he  pre- 
ferred. The  first  time  I  ever  saw  this  practiced,  was  in  the  Ger- 
man Lutheran  Church  in  Baltimore,  at  that  time  served  by  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Haesbaert.  The  design  was  to  accommodate  those  mem- 
bers, of  which  there  were  many,  who  had  been  reared  in  the 
German  Reformed  Church,  and  who  had  prejudices  against  the 
use  of  the  wafer.  This  practice  was  abolished  by  Mr.  Haesbaert's 
successor,  who  retained  the  wafer  alone. 

I  am  not  sure  whether  all  the  old  German  Churches  of  Penn- 
sylvania, especially  in  the  country,  use  the  wafer  exclusively,  but 
it  is  the  practice  of  some,  at  least,  of  the  English  Churches  be- 
longing to  the  General  Council,  but  none  of  them  regard  it  as 
essential  to  the  Sacrament.  They  consider  fermented  bread  as 
equally  appropriate. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania,  in  1877,  it  was 
discovered  that  some  of  the  ministers  still  used  both  the  bread 
and  wafer  at  the  Sacrament,  in  accommodation  to  the  views  of 
their  German  Reformed  neighbors,  who  usually  communed  with 
them.  The  subject  was  brought  up  and  referred  to  a  committee, 
who  present  it  in  such  a  plain,  liberal  and  evangelical  spirit,  that 
I  have  inserted  it  below.  In  the  discussion  which  ensued,  some 
of  the  country  ministers  boldly  took  the  ground  that  it  was  per- 
fectly proper  to  use  the  two  kinds  of  bread,  out  of  regard  to  the 
weakness,  prejudice,  or  scruples  of  the  Reformed.  They  thought 
they  were  doing  less  harm,  by  practicing  this  accommodation, 
than  by  pertinaciously  retaining  the  wafer,  exclusively,  and  thus 
driving  them  from  the  Lord's  Supper.  The  committee  takes  a  dif- 
ferent and  more  correct  view. 

Some  persons  look  upon  this  as  a  very  unimportant  question,  and 

?3 


358  FIFTY   YEAKS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

not  worthy  serious  consideration,  but  I  beg  all  such  to  read  the 
following  report  carefully.  The  question  is  not,  Shall  we  use 
bread  or  wafer?  (that  is,  unfermented  bread).  That  is  plain 
enough — one  or  the  other,  and  it  matters  not  which,  but  the  ques- 
tion is,  Shall  both  be  placed,  at  the  same  time,  upon  the  plate, 
that  the  communicant  may  have  the  privilege  of  choosing? 

This  presupposes  the  fact,  however,  that  the  administrator 
hands  the  plate  around  without  touching  the  bread  himself,  and 
in  this  case,  the  communicant  mighl^  choose,  but  suppose  that  the 
minister  gives  the  element  with  his  own  hand,  as  is  usually  done, 
how  could  he  discriminate  ?     But  read  the  report. 

REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  ON  THE  QUESTION  IN  REGARD  TO  THE 
BREAD  IN  THE  COMMUNION. 

The  committee  appointed  to  consider  the  question  in  regard  to 
the  simultaneous  use  of  two  kinds  of  bread  at  the  Communion, 
believing  that  the  judgment  of  the  Ministerium  would  be  more 
useful,  if  accompanied  by  a  statement  of  the  principles  on  which 
it  rests,  would  submit  the  following : 

1.  In  the  Lord's  Supper,  bread  is  one  of  the  divinely  ordained 
elements,  which  cannot  be  omitted,  and  for  which  nothing  can  be 
lawfully  substituted  ;  but  it  is  a  matter  of  indifference,  fully  com- 
mitted to  the  liberty  of  the  Church,  of  what  kind  this  bread  shall 
be.  Any  real  bread,  whether  in  the  form  of  wafers  or  in  some 
other  form,  may  be  employed. 

2.  The  existing  rite,  in  things  indifferent,  if  all  other  things  are 
equal,  should  have  the  preference,  as  this  tends  to  peace  and  order 
in  the  Church. 

Augs.  Conf.,  Art.  xv. 

3.  The  distribution  of  bread  in  two  forms  at  the  same  Com- 
munion, is  an  offence  against  the  law  of  order  and  of  Christian 
charity,  for  these  and  other  reasons  : 

i.  There  is  neither  necessity,  sufficient  reason  nor  historical 
warrant  for  more  than  one  kind  of  bread  at  the  Supper.  Of  this, 
beginning  with  our  Lord's  Institution  itself,  to  this  hour,  there 
has  been  a  general  recognition. 

ii.  The  use  of  a  second  kind  of  bread  might  be  used  to  justify 
the  introduction  of  the  unfermented  juice  of  the  grape  for  those 
who  have  scruples  about  any  use  of  wine  in  its  ordinary  forms. 

iii.  It  would   either   make   separate    tables  of  communicants, 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  359 

classified  according  to  the  kind  of  bread  they  receive,  or  would 
destroy  the  possibility  of  the  ministers  making  an  individual  dis- 
tribution of  the  bread,  giving  it  to  each  communicant,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  example  of  our  Lord  himself,  and  of  the  universal 
usage  of  our  Church,  and  of  Christendom,  at  large,  throughout 
all  ages. 

iv.  It  would  suggest  scruples  of  conscience  where  there  ought 
to  be  none,  would  give  life  and  distinctness  to  differences  unwor- 
thy of  the  prominence  thus  given  them,  would  disturb  and  divide 
the  attention  of  communicants  at  the  very  moment  when  it  should 
be  permanently  fixed  upon  the  Lord  of  the  Supper,  and  thus  for 
the  discerning  of  His  precious  body  would  be  substituted  a  dis- 
cerning of  the  bread.  The  outward  element,  instead  of  being  an 
aid  of  faith,  would  become  a  disturber  of  it. 

v.  Those  who  claim  that  a  second  form  of  bread  should  be  used, 
because  they  prefer  it,  do  so  on  one  of  two  untenable  grounds. 
If  they  say  it  is  a  concession,  which  should  be  made  on  the  ground 
of  their  weakness,  they  desire  not  that  the  Church  should  make 
them  strong  by  resisting  their  weakness,  but  should  make  them 
weaker  by  yielding  to  it,  and  should  further  weaken  and  give  of- 
fence to  her  trusting  children  at  the  urgency  of  those  who  choose 
her  altars  as  the  place  at  which  to  show  their  doubts  as  to  her 
being  a  safe  guide.  If  they  say  it  is  a  right,  which  they  claim, 
because  they  have  the  true  view  in  the  case,  they  are  judging  and 
condemning  the  Church  and  their  fellow  communicants  at  the 
table  of  the  Lord.  Thus  two  classes  of  communicants  are  created, 
a  spirit  of  disputation  and  of  obstinate  scrupulosity  is  aroused, 
and  the  Sacrament  of  love  and  unity  is  perverted  into  a  fomenter 
of  dissension  and  faction. 

vi.  The  use  of  bread  in  the  form  of  wafers  is  a  mark  of  the 
Lutheran  Church  only  when  it  is  maintained  in  her  Christian  lib- 
erty, as  a  part  of  free  preference  for  established  usage  over  against 
all  attempts  at  civil  or  moral  coercion  or  false  attempts  to  make 
a  matter  of  conscience  of  that  which  our  Lord  has  left  as  a  matter 
of  freedom.  Our  Church  therefore  neither  condemns  the  free  use 
of  any  form  of  bread  which  her  own  congregations  or  any  part  of 
the  Christian  world  may  prefer,  provided  that  use  be  free  from 
false  doctrine,  and  from  all  violation  of  the  law  of  good  order 
and  Christian  charity. 

vii.  "Where  mistaken  views  on  this  subject  have  prevailed,  it  is 


360  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

the  duty  of  pastors,  sustained  by  the  sympathy  and  cooperation 
of  their  faithful  officers  and  members,  in  all  gentleness  and  wis- 
dom to  assert  and  teach  the  truth  to  those  who  are  in  error,  but 
to    be  unyielding    in    their    refusal   to  conform   to  the    unsound 

doctrine. 

C.  P.  Krauth, 
A.  Spaeth, 

Committee. 

The  following  incident,  closely  connected  with  the  preceding,  is 
related  of  Rev.  Mr.  Wyneken,  when  he  took  charge  of  the  Ger- 
man Church  in  Baltimore,  previously  served  by  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Haesbaert : 

On  the  Sunday  immediately  following  his  installation,  the  Lord's 
Supper  was  to  be  celebrated.  The  preparation  of  the  altar  had 
been  intrusted  to  the  sexton.  Wyneken's  consternation  may  be 
more  readily  imagined  than  described,  when,  in  the  confessional 
service,  he  appeared  before  the  sacramental  table  and  instantly 
perceived,  that  in  this  place  the  Holy  Supper  had  assuredly  never 
yet  been  administered  after  the  manner  of  the  truly  Lutheran 
Church  !  There  was  the  wine  in  a  huge  earthen  jug,  and  on  the 
plate  were  wafers  and  hread  side  hy  side.     What  was  to  be  done  ? 

He  immediately  called  the  deacons  into  the  sacristy  and  ex- 
i:lained  to  them,  that  the  congregation  is  not  Lutheran  at  all  ; 
that  in  extending  a  call  to  him  he  had  been  deceived  ;  that  he 
could  not  distribute  the  sacrament !  The  good  people  were  filled 
with  surprise  and  confusion,  declared  that  they  had  not  been 
aware  that  they  were  not  purely  Lutheran,  and  requested  him  to 
act  in  the  case  in  accord  with  his  conscience  as  a  Lutheran  Pastor. 
They  thereupon  urgently  entreated  him  to  distribute  the  Sacra- 
ment once  more  in  the  manner  to  which  the  people  had  hitherto 
been  accustomed,  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding  the  very  great  dis- 
satisfaction that  would  otherwise  arise  among  the  communicants 
who  were  present. 

Under  existing  circumstances  "Wyneken  likewise  regarded  this 
as  the  better  course,  and  acted  accordingly.  After  the  sermon, 
however,  he  requested  the  congregation  to  remain  in  the  church 
for  a  short  time  after  the  close  of  the  service.  And  now  he  de- 
clared in  the  presence  of  the  people,  that  he  had  not  found  them  to 
he  a  Lutheran,  hut  much  more  a  unionistic  congregation,  and  that 
therefore  the  hest  course  for  them  to  pursue  would  prohahly  he,  to 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    TFIE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  361 

dismiss  him  im,mcdiately ;  (liat,  in  case  he  should  remain  o/tnong 
them,  he  would  certainly  occasion  many  disturbances  and  dissatis- 
factions in  the  midst  of  such  a  mixed  multitude. 

The  congregation,  however,  would  not  consent  to  his  going 
away,  but  was  decided  in  its  desire  that  he  should  remain.  "  Well, 
then,"  said  Wyneken,  "  I  will  begin  on  next  Sunday  to  take  both 
the  Lutheran  and  Heidelberg  Catechisms  with  me  into  the  i)ulpit, 
and  will  read  from  and  explain  both  ;  then  each  one  will  have  the 
opportunity  of  knowing  and  judging  for  hin^elf  as  to  which  side 
has  and  confe.sses  the  complete  truth  of  the  divine  word  !  " 

This,  accordingly,  was  the  course  that  Wyneken  subsequently 
pursued.  He  explained  from  both  catechisms  the  distinction  be- 
tween the  Lutheran  and  Reformed  doctrines;  he  rebuked  the 
practice  hitherto  observed  in  administering  the  Lord's  Supper, 
and  showed  from  the  Scriptures,  that  Reformed  and  Lutherans 
cannot  possibly  be  members  of  one  and  the  same  congregation, 
inasmuch  as  every  congregation  that  desires  to  act  with  true 
Christian  candor  and  uprightness  cannot  adojDt  and  adhere  to 
more  than  one  confession. 

This  course  resulted  in  a  fearful  storm  in  the  congregation. 
The  Reformed  maintained  that  they  had  been  betrayed,  and  the 
greater  number  of  them  did  not  even  have  the  forbearance  pa- 
tiently to  hear  Wyneken's  explanations  ;  and  among  the  Luther- 
ans also,  they  found  erring  friends  who  criticised  the  course  of 
the  new  Pastor,  and  desired  to  have  the  former  state  of  affairs 
retained.  Not  in  the  congregational  meetings  only,  but  also  on 
the  streets  and  in  the  homes  of  the  people,  lively  and  often  bitter 
disputations  took  place.  Many  children  of  Reformed  parents  had 
become  Lutherans  ;  others  were  intermarried  with  Lutherans  ;  ac- 
cordingly daughters  stood  opposed  to  their  mothers  and  husbands 
to  their  wives.  It  was  a  time  of  visitation  ;  but  the  truth  gained 
the  victory.  The  Reformed  left  the  congregation  (on  a  single 
Sunday  more  than  eighty  names  were  announced  from  the  pulpit 
of  persons  who  severed  their  connection  with  the  congregation) 
and  built  a  German  Reformed  Church  on  Calvert  street.  It  was 
self-evident  that  they  regarded  Wyneken  as  their  enemy,  and 
quite  a  length  of  time  elapsed  before  the  excitement  that  had 
arisen  subsided. 


362  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

NAMING    CHURCHES. 

It  is  only  of  late  years  that  many  of  our  new  churches  are 
named  after  some  saint,  or  that  some  other  distinctive  title  is 
given  them.  At  the  present  time  we  have  all  the  apostles  and 
evangelists,  and  sometimes  even  duplicated,  for  there  are  two 
Lutheran  St.  Marks  and  St.  Pauls  in  Baltimore.  Such  designa- 
tions as  The  Church  of  the  Reformation  and  Church  of  the  Holy 
Communion,  which  are  the  names  of  two  of  our  city  Churches, 
were  almost  unknown  in  the  olden  times.  Many  of  our  country 
Churches  are  called  after  a  family  name,  such  as  Hofacker's, 
Quigal's,  Wolf's,  &c.,  &c.,  probably,  because  the  ground  was  given 
by  such  family.  Some  are  known  from  the  district  or  township 
in  which  they  are  located,  as  Tulpehocken  Church,  &c.  Some 
Churches  in  the  same  city  are  designated  numerically,  as  the  First 
English  Lutheran  Church,  the  Second,  the  Third,  as  is  the  case 
with  three  of  the  Churches  in  Baltimore.  Those  subsequently 
built  are  distinguished  by  the  names  of  saints.  This  practice  is 
becoming  very  common,  and  the  reason  would  be  an  interesting 
subject  of  inquiry. 


THE  BURIAL  OF  NON-MEMBERS  OF  THE  CHURCH,  OF  SUICIDES,  &C. 

I  have  never  heard  that  any  of  our  ministers  have  refused  to 
perform  the  funeral  service  at  the  burial  of  the  worst  class  of 
sinners,  or  that  they  have  refused  to  attend  a  funeral  as  Christian 
ministers,  because  a  rationalist  or  heretic  was  to  officiate.  I  have 
heard  of  one  man  who  would  not  take  part  in  a  funeral  service 
with  a  Unitarian  minister,  because,  he  said,  his  presence  would 
seem  to  sanction  the  validity  of  the  Unitarian's  claims  as  a  Chris- 
tian clergyman.  We  have  all  heard  that  some  Episcopal  minis- 
ters have  declined  to  officiate  at  the  funerals  of  deceased  actors, 
whilst  others  are  not  so  scrupulous,  and  we  know  that  the  Church 
of  Rome  forbids  her  priests  to  perform  such  service,  but  there  are 
very  few  ministers  of  any  denomination  who  positively  refuse  to 
attend  the  funeral  of  any  class  of  men  who  die  unconnected  with 
the  Church.  I  presume  most  of  them  perform  such  functions 
with  the  hope  of  instructing  and  comforting  bereaved  relatives, 
and,  especially,  of  benefitting  those  at  the  funferal  by  plain  gospel 
preaching,  which  many  of  them  seldom  hear.     Besides,  it  has  the 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTEY.  363 

appearance  of  heartlessness  to  refuse  Christian  services  on  such 
occasions.  But  I  think  that  a  difference  should  be  made  between 
Christian  service  and  Christian  burial.  I  may  preach  and  pray  at 
the  funeral,  but  I  may  or  may  not  recite  the  liturgy  for  the  dead 
over  a  deceased  drunkard,  gambler,  suicide  or  other  wicked  man. 

I  once  buried  a  man  out  of  a  low  tavern,  who  had  been  killed 
in  a  street  broil.  I  \vas  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  his  compan- 
ions, who  seldom  or  never  heard  the  gospel.  I  preached  to  them 
in  a  side  room,  but  I  did  not  pronounce  the  "  dust  to  dust,"  nor 
commit  to  the  grave  our  "deceased  brother,"  nor  did  I  express 
any  hope  of  a  "  glorious  resurrection  at  the  last  day,"  and  yet,  by 
all  this,  I  did  not  intend  to  determine  the  future  destiny  of  the 
man.  I  only  meant  that  I  could  not  give  him  what  we  call  Chris- 
tian burial. 

The  Synod  of  Pennsylvania,  at  its  meeting  in  1877,  had  a  com- 
mittee on  this  subject,  who  presented  the  following  report.  I 
insert  it  here,  because  it  is  really  a  valuable  and  interesting  docu- 
ment, which  very  few  of  my  readers  would  ever  see  otherwise: 

THESES    ON    BURIAL    OF   SUICIDES. 

1.  Church  burial  is  that  interment  of  the  dead,  at  which  a  reg- 
ularly ordained  minister  of  the  Church  officiates,  the  changing  or 
entire  omission  of  individual  parts  of  the  usual  burial  service 
creating  no  difference. 

2.  By  Christian  burial,  which,  expressive  of  love  and  honor  to 
the  dead,  is  granted  to  the  dead  and  not  to  the  living,  the  Church 
indicates:  that  the  deceased  was  connected  with  her  in  life,  and 
that  she  recognizes  him  as  one  belonging  to  her. 

3.  Inasmuch  as  Christian  burial  is  the  public  recognition  on  the 
part  of  the  Church  of  the  fact,  that  the  deceased  during  life,  or 
at  least  at  the  time  of  death,  belonged  to  the  Church  and  was  by 
her  recognized  as  a  member  ;  therefore  the  Church  cannot  grant 
Christian  burial  to  such  deceased  persons,  who  during  their  life- 
time have  never  according  to  the  recognized  order  confessed  them- 
selves as  belonging  to  her,  or  have  publicly  and  designedly 
separated  from  her,  or  on  account  of  their  unbelief  or  open  sin- 
fulness have  been  excluded,  and  have  departed  from  this  life  in  a 
state  of  impenitence. 

4.  The  granting  or  refusal  of  Christian  burial  can  evidently 
take  place  only  in  the  name  of  the  Church  and  in  accordance 


364  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY. 

with  the  principles  publicly  recognized  by  her ;  therefore,  the  de- 
cision thereof  may  not  depend  upon  the  subjective  opinion  of  a 
pastor  or  even  of  a  congregation,  but  must  be  done  according  to 
the  principles  recognized  by  the  Church. 

5.  The  Church,  on  her  part,  in  granting  or  refusing  Christian 
burial,  does  not  express  an  opinion  as  to  the  salvation  or  damna- 
tion of  the  dead,  but  she  simply  testifies  "  that  the  deceased  was 
or  was  not  a  member  of  her  fold." 

The  Church  may  not  express  a  hope  for  the  salvation  of  any  one 
in  death  for  whom  she  does  not  express  this  hope  whilst  he  is 
living. 

6.  Aside  from  official  participation  in  the  burial  of  a  person, 
not  belonging  to  the  Church  during  life,  the  pastor  can,  and  shall, 
especially  when  requested  by  his  family  or  relatives,  render  them 
every  service  of  love  and  mercy  ;  e.  g.  preach  the  Word  of  God 
to  them,  comfort  them,  pray  with  them,  etc.  But,  in  connection 
with  such  service,  even  the  appearance  must  be  avoided,  as  if  such 
person,  not  belonging  to  the  Church,  had  now  received  a  Christian 
funeral. 

After  these  general  principles  and  instructions  concerning 
Church  burial,  there  now  follow  those  which  have  special  reference 
to  the  deportment  of  the  Church  in  cases  of  suicide  on  the  part 
of  Church  members. 

1.  Since  the  Church,  in  early  times,  refused  her  burial,  without 
distinction,  to  every  suicide,  even  if  he  was  by  her  regarded  as  a 
member  until  death,  the  Church  of  the  present  day  can,  at  least, 
not  take  an  entirely  opposite  course,  by  granting  Christian  burial, 
especially  in  its  more  solemn  form,  to  all  suicides,  without  dis- 
tinction. 

2.  According  to  the  more  recent  decision  of  the  Church,  burial 
in  its  less  solemn  form  may  be  granted  to  those  who  have  com- 
mitted suicide  in  a  state  of  irresponsibility  (Unzurechnungsfwhig- 
keit)  not  caused  by  guilt  of  their  own. 

Note. — More  solemn  burial  consists  in  being  held  at  the  usual 
time  with  all  the  usual  ceremonies ;  less  solemn  burial  is  distin- 
guished by  the  intentional  omission  of  certain  of  these  ceremo- 
nies, or  by  its  taking  place  at  an  unusual  time. 

3.  Suicides  who  put  an  end  to  their  own  lives  in  order  to  avoid 
the  expected  punishment  of  crimes  which  they  have  committed  ; 
those  who  end  their  lives  during  an  attack  of  delirium-tremens  ; 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  365 

gamblers,  who  end  their  lives  when  they  have  lost  heavily  ;  de- 
bauchees, spendthrifts,  misers,  etc.,  who  in  consequence  of  their 
vices  are  plunged  into  despair,  and  commit  self-murder ;  such 
persons  the  Church  shall  under  no  circumstances  bury. 

4.  The  Church  cannot  readily  draw  a  certain  line  of  demarca- 
tion between  cases  of  irresponsibility — not  caused  by  personal 
guilt,  or  partially  so  caused — particularly  when  the  positive  proofs 
of  open  unbelief,  of  wicked  contempt  of  the  Word  of  God  and 
the  Sacraments,  are  wanting.  In  such  cases  the  less  solemn  form 
of  burial  may  be  allowed. 

5.  No  pastor,  belonging  to  our  Synod,  shall  be  allowed  to  bury 
a  suicide  who  was  connected  with  another  denomination,  which, 
according  to  its  order,  refused  him  Christian  burial ;  no  matter 
from  what  causes  or  in  what  mental  condition  the  deed  was  com- 
mitted. 

6.  In  the  case  of  suicide  on  the  part  of  a  member  of  a  congre- 
gation, the  minister,  together  with  the  elders  and  deacons  of  the 
congregation,  are  to  decide  whether,  according  to  the  above  prin- 
ciples,of  the  Church,  Christian  burial  in  its  less  solemn  form  shall 
be  granted  or  refused. 


PRESENTS    TO    MINISTERS    AND   DONATION    PARTIES — PAYING 
FOR    PASTORAL    SERVICES. 

From  the  earliest  times  many  of  our  American  born  Lutherans 
have  had  the  laudable  habit  of  sending  gifts  of  various  value  to 
their  ministers.  They  usually  consisted  of  provision  for  man  and 
beast,  fuel  and  sometimes  clothing;  money  very  rarely.  Indeed, 
were  it  not  for  these  extra  gifts,  many  of  our  men  would  find  it 
hard  to  get  along.  Some  men  are  very  handsomely  remembered  ; 
others,  slenderly.  It  is  unfortunate  for  a  minister  to  have  the 
reputation  of  being  well  oS  in  this  world's  goods ;  people  are 
apt  to  think  that  he  does  not  need  presents,  or  would  not  accept 
them,  forgetting  that  such  a  man  would  not  value  a  gift  accord- 
ing to  its  worth  in  money,  but  as  an  evidence  of  their  esteem  for 
their  pastor ;  but,  unhappily,  they  do  not  take  such  a  refined  view 
of  the  subject.  I  know  a  successful  minister  of  a  large  city  church 
who  in  many  years  did  not  receive  a  hundred  dollars  worth  of 
presents,  merely  because  his  people  thought  that  he  did  not  stand 


366  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

in  need  of  them,  which  might  have  been  true,  but  still,  I  am  sure, 
he  would  have  appreciated  the  smallest  donation  as  a  demonstra- 
tion of  their  regard  for  him. 

Every  country  pastor  expects  such  demonstrations,  and  many 
are  not  disappointed.  At  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  provisions 
rush  in  at  a  superfluous  rate.  I  know  one  man  who  had  enough 
to  open  a  meat  and  sausage  store  if  he  had  wanted  to ;  indeed, 
he  did  sell  the  superabundance,  which  was  fair  enough.  I  have 
heard  of  one  old  man  in  Pennsylvania  who  was  never  satisfied 
with  the  gifts  he  received.  The  young  men  of  his  church  deter- 
mined to  stop  his  complainings  and  send  him  a  sausage  some 
yards  in  length.  He  gloated  over  it  triumphantly,  and  as  he 
transferred  it  from  the  tub  in  which  it  was  sent  to  his  own,  he 
would  exclaim,  at  every  turn,  "  beautiful ! — grand  ! — glorious  ! — 
enough  for  all  winter !  "  and  when  he  got  to  the  end  of  the  ser- 
pentine convolution,  he  muttered,  "  Yes,  all  nice  enough,  only  if 
there  had  been  more  of  it !  !  " 

Some  of  our  men  are  occasionally  imposed  upon.  I  have  seen 
more  than  a  dozen  people  stop  at  the  parsonage  and  dine  there 
on  Sunday  after  church  in  the  country.  This  would  be  all  nice 
enough  if  they  had  sent  in  the  provision  on  Saturday,  but  this 
was  not  often  the  case,  and  the  parson's  larder  suffered,  and  the 
patience  of  the  poor  parson's  wife  was  sorely  tried. 

I  have  heard  of  the  following  case  ;  a  minister  bought  a  turkey 
of  a  parishioner  for  a  dollar ;  the  said  parishioner  knew  that  the 
turkey  was  to  be  on  the  table  next  Sunday,  and  he  invited  himself, 
wife  and  five  children  to  dinner  !  he  got  his  price  for  the  bird  and 
helped  to  eat  it  besides  ! 


DONATION    PARTIES. 


The  Donation  Parties  of  which  we  see  so  much  in  the  Observer, 
have  not  become  a  fixed  institution  as  far  South  as  Maryland. 
Occasionally,  we  hear  of  one,  but  they  are  not  common.  I  am 
told  that  they  occasion  much  bother  to  the  minister's  wives  and  that 
in  many  instances,  nearly  as  much  is  consumed  by  the  crowd  as 
is  brought.  But  still,  it  is  a  social  meeting,  at  which  the  young 
folks  have  a  gay  time,  and  the  old  ones  renew  their  youth. 

I  know  some  people  who  are  mischievous  enough  to  smile  sus- 


FIFTY    YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  367 

piciously  at  some  luminous  expression  of  thanks  in  the  Observer 
to  a  "  generous  congregation  for  their  distinguished  liberality ' 
to  their  minister,  when  it  is  well  known  that  there  are  not  three 
subscribers  to  the  Observer  in  the  parish  !  These  mischievous 
people  strongly  suspect  that  the  design  of  said  thanks  "  was  to  let 
other  people  know  how  popular  the  aforesaid  minister  is  !  "  The 
world  is  full  of  suspicious  people  ! 

In  old  times  it  was  an  almost  universal  custom,  which  in  many 
places,  is  happily  not  yet  abolished,  to  compensate  the  minister  for 
baptisms  and  funerals,  as  well  as  marriages.  In  some  congrega- 
tions, at  present,  many  parishioners  give  him  nothing  for  the  two 
former.  Why  the  good  old  custom  has  been  abolished  I  do  not 
know :  perhaps  it  is  the  increased  subscription  to  the  minister's 
salary,  but  that  does  not  apply  to  all  cases,  for  unfortunately  those 
who  have  not  added  to  their  pew  rent  or  subscription,  follow  the 
bad  example  of  those  who  have  and  do  not  pay  the  parson  for 
those  special  services. 

Marriage  fees,  as  they  are  erroneously  called,  are  supposed  to 
be  universal,  but  I  could  fill  pages  Avith  interesting,  and  m  some 
cases,  ludicrous  incidents,  showing  the  contrary.  Every  minister 
has  more  than  one  story  to  tell  of  forgetfulness,  neglect,  and  even 
downright  deception  in  this  matter. 


CRAPE   AT    FUNERALS 


is  not  so  common  as  it  was  fifty  years  ago.  Then  every  man  who 
attended  the  funeral  had  his  hat  bandaged  with  a  long  streamer, 
and  gloves  were  given  to  the  pall-bearers,  but  the  women  were 
overlooked,  and  why,  it  is  hard  to  say.  I  remember  when  white 
scarfs  were  given  to  the  clergy,  and  a  cheap  white  stuff  was  tied 
round  the  hats  of  the  carriage  drivers  at  funerals  in  Baltimore. 
This  latter  custom  has  been  long  since  abolished.  Black  crape  is 
still  common,  and  gloves  for  the  minister,  but  it  is  a  useless  ex- 
pense, and  for  the  last  twenty  years  I  have  refused  them.  It  gave 
offence  at  first,  but  after  an  explanation,  the  people  were  satisfied. 
I  had  heard  so  often  from  undertakers  and  store  keepers  that  a 
certain  class  of  people  in  imitation  of  those  socially  and  pecunia- 
rily above  them,  and  with  the  vain  idea  of  showing  respect  to 


368  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

their  dead,  had  gone  into  debt  for  coffin  and  funeral  carriages  and 
hearse  and  crape  and  gloves,  far  beyond  their  ability  to  pay,  that 
I  resolved  not  to  countenance  such  unwarrantable  extravagance 
and  have  ever  since  refused  to  accept  crape  from  rich  or  poor. 


WHY    WE    LOSE    SOME    MEMBERS. 

Our  Church  in  this  country  during  her  transition  state  has  lost 
a  large  number  of  members,  and  even  at  the  present  time  pastors 
are  sometimes  heard  complaining  of  the  secession  of  some  of  their 
flock.  I  do  not  mean  to  intimate  that  other  denominations  have 
no  reason  to  mourn  over  the  same  misfortune,  or  that  they  all 
gain  by  secessions  from  us  alone.  On  the  contrary,  every  one  of 
them  has  nurtured  children  for  other  families,  and  dismissals  from 
one  to  the  other  is  a  common  event.  But  we,  as  a  people,  have 
probably  had  more  separatists  from  our  communion  than  most 
others,*  for  reasons  that  shall  presently  be  given.  Whilst  it  is 
true  that  we  have  lost  many,  yet  we  have  also  gained ;  for  every 
member  of  our  Churches  with  an  English  name  is  a  positive  gain 
either  from  some  other  denomination,  or  from  families  not  origi- 
nally connected  with  us.  These  names  are  numerous,  so  that  the 
loss  and  gain  probably  counterbalance  each  other.  This  would 
be  an  interesting  subject  for  inquiry,  which,  however,  could  only 
be  prosecuted  w'ithin  a  limited  district  and  time ;  but  if  all  the 
ministers  of  a  Conference  or  Synod  would  perseveringly  conduct 
the  investigation,  interesting  results  would  be  reached.  I  am 
sure  that  in  some  congregations  the  gains  from  non-German  fami- 
lies and  other  churches  are  greater  than  our  losses,  whilst  in  others 
the  converse  would  be  the  case. 

The  principal  reasons,  that  have  led  some  people  to  leave  us 
are : 

1.  There  wan  no  Lutheran  Church  in  the  place  ivhere  they  settled. 
This  applies  particularly  to  new  settlements  in  the  West,  or  places 
elsewhere  founded  by  people  of  other  denominations.  Some  of 
our  people  settle  there,  and  finding  no  Lutheran  Church,  and  see- 
ing no  speedy  prospect  of  having  one,  they  attach  themselves  to 
other  denominations.  Some  hesitate  a  long  time,  in  hope  of  relief 
sooner  or  later;    but  others,  not  so  firm  or  so  patient,  and  es- 


FIFTY   YEAKS   IN   THE   LUTHEKAN   MINISTRY.  369 

pecially  when  courted  and  flattered  by  strangers,  sever  their  ori- 
ginal church  connections  and  are  lost  to  our  communion.  Such 
people  are  found  in  every  city  and  town  in  the  West,  and  some 
also  in  the  East,  where  there  are  Lutheran  churches,  but  who  re- 
side at  too  great  a  distance  from  the  Church  for  a  Sunday  walk. 
Whilst  the  introduction  of  street  cars  removes  the  objection  to 
some  extent,  still  the  expense  of  a  whole  family  riding  to  church, 
even  once  on  a  Sunday,  is  a  considerable  item,  especially  to  poor- 
er men. 

2.  Marrying  persons  of  other  churches  is  also  a  source  of  loss  to 
some  degree,  though  it  may  also  be  said  it  is  a  source  of  gain — but 
we  are  speaking  only  of  the  former  at  present.  It  is  sometimes 
said  that  the  husband  should  follow  the  wife,  but  it  is  not  laid 
down  as  a  law,  and  even  if  it  were,  it  is  not  universally  obeyed ; 
but  there  is  no  doubt  of  the  fact,  that  many  a  young  Lutheran 
gentleman  and  Lutheran  lady,  marrying  "out  of  the  church,"  has 
followed  "the  party  of  the  other  part,"  and  left  their  church  home. 
In  some  cases  they  alternate,  and  go  to  one  church  in  the  morning 
or  one  whole  Sunday,  and  the  next  to  the  church  of  the  other  party  ; 
but  even  this  mutual  accommodation  loosens  the  ties,  and  in  fre- 
quent instances  it  does  not  require  much  to  sever  them  altogether. 

When  a  Lutheran  young  man  marries  a  Romish  lady,  he  may  be 
counted  among  the  "lost"  from  the  day  of  the  marriage  ;  and  when 
a  Lutheran  lady  marries  a  Romish  young  man,  her  name  might  as 
well  be  stricken  from  the  roll,  for  it  will  not  be  long  before  she  is 
wheedled  away  by  bribery,  intimidation,  threats,  or  flattery. 

3.  Prospect  of  professional  gain  or  business  advantage  has  led 
some  of  our  young  men  away.  I  once  met  a  schoolmate  of  mine 
in  a  western  city,  who  was  a  physician,  and  who,  besides,  kept  a 
large  drug  store.  He  had  been  reared  strictly  to  the  church  in 
his  native  place,  but  was  not  deeply  rooted  in  principle.  He  went 
West,  and  although  there  was  an  English  Lutheran  church  in  the 
city,  yet  he  joined  the  Presbyterians,  and  frankly  told  me  that  the 
only  reason  was,  that  he  could  secure  more  practice  and  sell  more 
goods  among  that  people,  and  he  went  where  his  worldly  interests 
lay.  This  case  will  illustrate  many  others,  and  I  presume  every 
minister  could  recite  many  similar  ones. 

Under  this  head  may  be  mentioned  an  analogous  motive  ;  for 
instance,  a  young  man  has  an  eye  to  an  advantageous  matrimonial 
alliance,  and  finds  the  object  of  his  amatory  pursuit  snugly  dom- 


370  FIFTY   YEAKS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

iciliated  in  another  church,  in  which  papa  may  be  a  ruling  elder, 
or  at  least  an  influential,  and  most  probably  a  wealthy  member, 
and  mamma  the  leader  of  the  sewing  and  missionary  society.  It 
is  so  pleasing  to  them  to  gain  a  new  convert,  and  the  daughter 
would  be  so  much  gratified,  that  the  poor  love-smitten  young  Lu- 
theran soon  finds  it  so  convenient  to  ask  his  pastor  for  a  letter  of 
dismissal ! 

4.  Some  simple  people  expect  to  secure  higher  social  position  by 
joining  a  more  fashionable  and  influential  church.  Nobody  will 
deny  that  in  many  places  the  Episcopalians  and  Presbyterians  have 
generally  the  most  refined  and  cultivated  people,  and  the  Metho- 
dists in  some  instances  have  the  advantage  in  numbers  and  popu- 
larity. Some  of  our  people,  who  have  been  successful  in  business, 
and  become  ambitious  of  display,  look  for  a  wider  field  for  family 
demonstration ;  and  abandoning  their  plain  Lutheran  associates, 
unite  with  those  of  a  higher  rank  in  society.  This  is  most  fre- 
quently the  case  in  Lutheran  families  which  have  ambitious  daugh- 
ters, who  seek  for  more  fashionable  company  than  they  find  in  their 
own  church.  They  expect,  of  course,  to  be  visited  and  caressed 
by  the  ladies  and  young  gentlemen  of  the  church  which  they  join, 
and  to  be  invited  to  tlie  grand  parties  and  other  social  demon- 
etrations,  and  thus  to  begin  a  new  and  exciting  career  of  fashion- 
able life.  But  some  of  them  are  destined  to  disappointment.  I 
could  tell  some  interesting  cases  of  mortified  pride  and  painful 
disappointment.  The  recusant  families  were  not  visited  nor  caress- 
ed nor  invited  by  the  haul  ton  of  the  church  which  they  joined, 
and  rose  no  higher  in  the  social  scale  than  they  maintained  in  their 
old  home.  No  doubt,  some  do  improve  their  manners,  if  not  their 
morals — some  do  gain  a  position  which  they  would  not  have  se- 
cured at  home  ;  but  this  is  not  owing  to  their  merits,  but  to  cir- 
cumstances, and  hence  not  laudable.  Improvement  in  piety  does 
not  enter  into  the  question.  They  were  probably  furnished  with 
more  wholesome  spiritual  food  at  home,  but  it  was  not  served  in 
silver  dishes,  and  the  caterers  were  not  dressed  in  lawn  and  silk. 

5.  There  are  some  who  leave  us  because  their  piety  is  so  far  in 
advance  of  ours,  that  they  can  find  no  religious  enjoyment  among 
their  old  fellow-members.  They  love  strong  religious  excitement 
and  high-wrought  emotion,  which  they  do  not  find  among  us,  and 
of  which  they  themselves  soon  weary  in  their  new  positions. 
They  are  not  satisfied  with  the  nourishing  Gospel  Manna  on  our 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY,  371 

table,  and  go  elsewhere  to  feed  on  the  more  stimulating  but  less 
substantial  food  of  strangers.  Some  of  them  soon  find  that  they 
do  not  grow  in  spiritual  strength,  as  they  expected,  and  get  home- 
sick and  return  ;  whilst  some  others,  ashamed  of  their  apostacy, 
and  having  lost  all  zest  for  purely  emotional  religion,  stray  away 
into  the  camp  of  the  Philistines. 

6.  I  have  known  some  to  leave  us  because,  as  they  maintained, 
they  were  not  appreciated  by  the  Lutherans.  As  far  as  concerns 
some  ministers  who  have  left  us  for  this  alleged  reason,  I  have 
treated  the  subject,  under  "  Ministers  who  have  left  us,"  elsewhere  ; 
but  I  now  speak  of  private  members  particularly.  "  Not  being 
appreciated,"  simply  means  that  these  people,  regarding  them- 
selves so  far  ahead  of  others  in  piety,  intelligence  and  general 
worth,  that  the  distinguished  consideration  to  which  they  were 
entitled  not, being  aw'arded  to  them,  they  retired  in  disgust,  and 
sought  and  sometimes  secured  church  offices  and  influence  else- 
where. 

A  man  left  my  church,  years  ago,  because  I  would  not  allow 
him  to  exhort  and  conduct  the  private  meetings  as  often  as  he 
thought  he  should.  He  was  ignorant,  though  well-meaning;  un- 
grammatical  in  his  language,  and  ludicrously  imperfect  in  his 
pronunciation  of  Scripture  names.  He  excited  merriment  in  some, 
pity  in  others,  and  dissatisfaction  in  all.  He  joined  the  German 
Methodists,  and  became  a  preacher  among  them. 

But  there  are  others  of  a  higher  rank  who  fancy  they  are  over- 
looked in  the  church,  and  Avonder  that  other  people  do  not  think 
as  much  of  them  as  they  do  themselves ;  there  are  some  who  find 
that  they  are  behind  most  of  their  fellow-members  in  intelligence 
and  influence,  and  they  naturally  drift  among  those  of  their  own 
level,  and  "  forsake  us."  Some  of  them  have  their  ambitious  long- 
ings gratified  by  being  elected  to  subordinate  offices;  others  are 
grievously  disappointed,  and  after  awhile  are  seen  lingering  about 
the  old  church  door  of  a  fine  Sunday  morning,  and  with  subdued 
emotion,  say,  as  one  did  to  me  not  long  ago,  "  I  find  my  old  friends 
truer  than  my  new  ones,  and  I'll  come  home  again."  Thus  many 
would  say,  if  they  were  not  ashamed. 

7.  One  of  the  principal  causes  of  loss  some  years  ago  was  the 
services  in  German  exclusively.  Young  people,  not  understanding 
the  German  well  enough  to  be  profited  by  the  preaching,  of  course 
left  the   church ;   and   superadded  to  this  was   their  association 


372  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

with  other  English-speaking  young  people,  with  whom  they  would 
naturally  prefer  going  to  church.  This  cause  does  not  operate  so 
influentially  at  the  present  time  as  in  the  past,  for  English  Lu- 
theran Churches  are  established;  but  still  there  are  large  cities, 
of  which  more  than  a  dozen  might  be  named,  in  which  German 
Lutherans  abound,  but  where  there  is  no  English  Lutheran 
Church.  In  such  places,  the  well-disposed  German  young  per- 
sons, who  prefer  English  services,  join  other  denominations. 

These  are  the  chief  causes  of  our  losses :  probably  there  are  a 
few  others. 

There  is  one  aspect  of  this  subject  which  is  particularly  un- 
pleasant. "Why  is  it  that  the  children  of  some  of  our  ministers 
forsake  the  Church,  even,  as  in  some  cases,  during  the  lifetime 
of  their  fathers  ?  Most  probably  one  or  the  other  of  the  above 
causes  may  be  assigned  in  relation  to  those  sons  of  our  ministers 
who  have  not  adopted  their  father's  profession ;  but  I  know  sev- 
eral of  our  men  whose  sons  are  in  the  ministry  of  other  churches  ! 
One  of  them  I  know  tried  to  dissuade  his  son  from  that  step,  and 
another  I  know  rather  encouraged  his  son,  because  the  father 
himself  was  not  very  successful  in  our  ministry,  and  never  had  a 
very  desirable  place.  He  did  not  wish  to  subject  his  son  to  the 
same  mortifying  experience,  and  advised  him  to  seek  his  bread 
elsewhere  ;  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  he  has  succeeded  better  than 
if  he  had  staid  at  home. 

I  am  sure  that  some  of  the  daughters,  at  least,  have  gained 
nothing  by  their  "departure."  One,  whose  father  is  deceased, 
and  who  is  now  an  Episcopalian,  applied  to  me  some  time  ago  for 
my  influence  in  securing  for  her  a  position  as  a  teacher  in  a  Lu- 
theran school !  And  when  I  mildly  asked  her  why  her  new  friends 
did  not  take  better  care  of  her,  she  blushed  ! 

There  is  still  another  subject  closely  connected  with  this  which 
must  not  be  overlooked.  Why  is  it  that  comparatively  so  few 
young  foreign  Germans,  who  speak  English  better  than  their  na- 
tive language,  join  our  English  Lutheran  Churches,  even  where 
they  have  the  opportunity  ?  This  question  has  been  extensively 
discussed  in  some  of  our  church  papers.  Various  reasons  have 
been  assigned,  such,  for  instance,  as  their  lack  of  religious  inter- 
est;  but  this  is  not  universal,  and  hence  not -the  only  or  even  a 
very  good  reason.  Others  have  said  it  is  owing  to  an  indisposi- 
tion to  any  changes  of  importance  natural  to  the  German,  which 


FIFTY  YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  373 

simply  means  German  obstinacy.  Some  account  for  it  on  the 
ground  of  their  love  of  home ;  but  this  cannot  be  the  reason  be- 
cause thousands  of  them  do  not  stay  at  home,  but  wander  away, 
not  to  other  churches,  but  further  still  from  home.  Some  have 
said  that  the  young  Germans  are  so  backward  and  modest,  and 
many  of  them  are  poor,  that  they  would  not  feel  comfortable  among 
Americans.  This  cannot  be  true,  because  many  of  them  associate 
with  young  American  people.  I  heard  a  German  minister  say 
that  in  most  of  our  English  churches  genuine  old  Lutheran  ism  is 
not  preached,  and  that  is  the  reason  why  young  Germans  do  not 
come  to  our  churches !  This  is  not  true,  for  various  reasons. 
First,  the  good  old  faith  is  preached  in  our  English  churches. 
Here  in  Baltimore,  for  example,  there  is  an  old  Lutheran  English 
Church  "  of  the  straitest  sect,"  served  by  a  minister  of  irreproach- 
able character,  and  on  terms  of  close  fraternal  relationship  with 
some  of  the  German  ministers,  and  yet  he  receives  very  few  young 
persons  from  the  German  churches.  There  are  similar  instances 
in  other  cities.  And,  secondly,  the  young  Germans  are  not  so 
thoroughly  indoctrinated  in  old  Lutheranism  as  to  be  a  barrier  to 
their  connnection  with  an  English  church,  if  they  desired  it. 
Another  one  accounted  for  it  on  the  ground  that  our  English 
service  was  too  bald,  and  that  our  English  ministers  did  not  wear 
the  clerical  gown.  Neither  of  these  is  true ;  for  it  is  a  fact  that 
in  most  of  our  English  churches  the  liturgical  service  is  longer, 
and  the  singing  is  better  than  in  German  churches,  and  some  of 
our  ministers  do  wear  the  gown  ;  and  yet  even  they  do  not  ad- 
mit more  of  this  class  than  others. 

After  spending  considerable  reflection  upon  this  subject,  I  have 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  fault  pj-incijyally  lies  with  the 
German  ministers  themselves,  who  discourage  their  Anglicized 
young  people  from  joining  the  English  Lutheran  Churches.  Some 
of  these  ministers  are  candid  enough  to  acknowledge  it.  I  boldly 
charge  some  of  them  with  a  more  grievous  offence  than  that ;  some 
of  them  do  not  even  advise  their  young  people,  who  are  leaving 
the  German  churches,  to  prefer  an  English  Lutheran  church 
above  any  other  communion  ! 

Dr.  Bachman,  in  an  anniversary  sermon  preached  in  1858,  in 

which  he  gives  a  sketch  of  the  history  of  the  church  in  the  South, 

among  other  things,  says  of  the  earlier  times:  "Our  ministers, 

witl]  very  few  exceptions,  performed  service  exclusively  in  the 

24 


374  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

German  language.  This  was  a  great  error,  inasmuch  as  it  excluded 
from  the  church  the  descendants  of  Lutherans,  who  had,  by 
education  and  association,  adopted  the  language  of  the  country. 
"Our  doctrines  were  not  objectionable  to  them,  but  they  could 
not  understand  the  language  in  which  they  were  promulgated. 
Thus  the  progress  of  the  Church  was  greatly  retarded  in  conse- 
quence of  the  bigoted  attachment  of  our  ancestors,  and  especially 
their  clergy,  to  a  foreign  language.  Since  the  introduction  of 
the  English  language  into  our  ministrations  the  church  has 
made  rapid  progress."* 

Many  other  men  would  bear  the  same  testimony,  and  among 
them  even  some  German  ministers. 

From  the  Lutheran  Observer. 

WHY  DO  SO  FEW  OF  OUR  FOREIGN  GERMANS  JOIN  OUR 
ENGLISH    CHURCHES? 

This  question  was  discussed  to  some  extent  a  few  years  ago,  but 
by  no  means  exhausted.  Though  its  agitation  now  may  elicit 
some  facts,  and  lead  to  results,  far  from  being  pleasant  to  some 
worthy  brethren,  yet,  it  is  high  time  to  bring  it  before  the  public 
mind  and  sift  it  thoroughly,  without  regard  to  private  feeling  or 
individual  prejudice.  No  man  who  loves  truth  will  shrink  from 
investigation,  however  much  the  consequence  may  affect  his 
present  interests  or  previous  opinions.  With  all  proper  respect, 
then,  for  the  professions  and  religious  character  of  many  of  our 
German  clergy,  I  Avill  proceed  calmly  and  truthfully  to  discuss 
this  question. 

No  one  will  deny  the  fact  that  many,  very  many,  of  our  Ger- 
man young  people,  who  understand  English  as  well  as  their  native 
tongue,  do  not  join  our  English  churches,  although  they  have  left 
their  own.  Occasionally  a  few  are  rescued,  but  the  vaet  majority 
wander  away  from  their  maternal  fold  and  are  lost  to  the  Lutheran 
church.  I  would  not  have  any  respect  for  the  intelligence  or  the 
candor  of  any  man  who  would  deny  this  well  established  fact. 

It  is  not,  however,  true  that  all  our  Anglicized  young  Germans, 
or  old  ones  either,  leave  their  own  church,  on  account  of  the 
language ;  very  far  from  it.  Mingle  wuth  almost  any  German 
congregation  as  it  issues  out  of  church  on  a  fine  Sunday  morning, 
and  you  will  hear  many  of  them  speaking  English  before  they 

♦Bemheim's  German  Settlement,  p.  420. 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  375 

have  descended  the  church  stejis,  and  yet  they  remain  with  the 
German  church.  Neither  is  it  true,  that  all  our  Anglicized,  and 
even  Americanized  old  Germans,  join  the  English  churches  in 
their  vicinity.  This  fact  is  apparent  in  every  place  where  there 
is  an  English  branch  of  the  old  German  congregation.  We 
observe  in  the  latter,  not  a  few  old  people,  who  do  not  speak  German 
in  their  families,  and  very  little  in  their  business,  who  still  adhere 
with  unyielding  pertinacity  to  "  the  old  church,"  in  which  they 
have  worshipped  for  years,  which  they  have  helped  to  build,  and 
in  the  graveyard  of  which  their  deceased  children  lie  buried.  I 
respect  their  feelings,  and  will  not  blame  their  action.  They  say, 
"  let  our  children  go  to  the  English  church,  as  for  us,  we  will 
stay  with  the  old  hive,  and  send  out  another  swarm  after  a  while." 

Neither  is  it  true  that  none  of  our  young  Germans  attach 
themselves  to  our  English  churches.  Many  of  our  pastors  admit 
a  few  every  year,  and  in  many  instances  they  make  the  most 
consistent  and  useful  members  of  the  flock.  I,  myself,  belong  to 
a  congregation  in  which,  at  nearly  every  communion,  a  few  of 
this  class  are  received,  but  after  all,  the  number  is  comparatively 
small. 

Neither  is  it  true  that  many  of  this  class  join  other  denomina- 
tions. Now  and  then,  Ave  hear  of  an  instance,  but  it  is  not  often. 
Other  denominations  have  succeeded  much  better  in  gathering  in 
German  Germans,  than  English  speaking  Germans,  as  every  body 
knows.  We  hear  of  Methodist,  Episcopalian,  Presbyterian  and 
even  Baptist  German  churches,  but  nobody  can  tell  us  of  any 
congregation  of  these  sects  composed  of  Anglicized  foreigners.  I 
admit  there  is  a  slight  mixture  of  this  German  element  in  some  of 
their  churches,  but  it  is  not  enough  to  affect  the  complexion  or 
appearance  of  the  purely  American  mass.  I  think  it  would  not 
be  hard  to  prove  that  more  of  our  American  Lutheran  people 
join  those  churches  than  Anglicized  German. 

But  the  question  at  the  head  of  my  paper  still  remains  to  be 
answered.     I  will  give  you  my  solution  of  it,  and  allow  me  to  say  : 

I.  The  reason  is  not  because  these  Anglicized  Germans  would 
not  hear  in  our  churches  the  same  doctrines  which  they  have 
heard  in  their  own.  We  all  hold  the  same  essential  system,  and 
very  few  Germans  are  so  wedded  to  any  distinctive  phase  of 
orthodox  Lutheranism  as  to  make  it  an  objection  to  their  joining 
any  Lutheran  church.     The  extreme  "  Missourian  "  might,  but  I 


Oib  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

know  a  few,  even  of  them,  who  are  now  among  the  best  members 
of  an  American  Lutheran  church,  and,  strange  to  say,  they  are 
native  Americans  and  not  at  all  familiar  with  German. 

II.  The  reason  is  not  that  they  would  not  find  in  our  English 
churches  an  appropriate  and  impressive  liturgy.  I  have  heard 
this  reason  given  by  a  worthy  German  minister,  but  I  am  satisfied 
there  is  no  force  in  it  whatever,  for  'most  of  our  city  English 
churches  have  a  more  extensive  altar  service  than  the  Germans 
have.  There  is  no  doubt  of  this,  and  hence  the  reason  for  not 
joining  us  on  this  ground  is  futile.  Besides  this,  every  body 
knows  that  nearly  every  Province  in  Germany  has  a  different 
altar  service,  which  is  generally  more  simple  and  not  near  so 
impressive  as  ours.     This,  then,  cannot  be  the  reason. 

III.  The  reason  is  not  that  our  English  ministers,  generally,  do 
not  wear  the  gown. 

It  is  said  by  some,  that  the  association  of  minister  and  gown  in 
a  German's  mind,  is  so  close  and  strong,  that  he  can  scarcely 
recognize  the  man  as  a  minister  without  his  clerical  robe  in  the 
pulpit.  Now,  admitting  the  force  of  this  prejudice,  and  I  can 
easily  conceive  of  its  existence,  and  could  account  for  it  on  very 
natural  grounds,  yet  it  will  not  explain  the  difficulty,  for  in  two 
of  our  largest  cities  most  of  our  ministers  do  wear  the  gown,  and 
do  they  receive  into  their  churches  more  of  this  class  of  Germans 
than  those  who  do  not  wear  that  very  appropriate  clerical  vest- 
ment ?  Do  St.  John's,  St.  Mark's,  St.  Stephen's,  and  St.  Michael's 
in  a  certain  city,  receive  more  than  St.  Matthew's,  St.  Andrew's, 
and  the  Messiah?  Even  if  it  be  the  case,  yet,  I  am  satisfied  that 
the  gown,  however  becoming  as  a  distinctive  ministerial  uniform, 
is  not  the  prevailing  reason. 

IV.  The  reason  is  not  because  our  congregational  music,  and 
our  church  comforts  are  not  equal  to  those  of  the  Germans.  The 
reverse  is  the  fact.  We  do  not  sing  quite  so  loud,  but  our  music 
is  equally  artistic  and  more  impressive  and  refined,  and  our  pew 
cushions  are  usually  a  little  softer  than  theirs.  These  things  they 
will  themselves  admit. 

I  have  thus  far  discussed  what  may  be  called  the  negative  side 
of  this  question,  and  showed  what  were  not  the  reasons  for  the 
course  of  which  we  complain.  Let  me  now  treat  it  affirmatively, 
and  exhibit  directly  why  it  is  that  so  few  of  this  class  of  persons 
continue  their  connection  with  us  as  a  church. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IK    TriE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  377 

In  the  place  where  my  observations  are  most  direct,  and  in 
which  I  cannot  be  deceived,  about  four  hundred  young  persons 
were  confirmed  in  the  German  churches  at  Easter,  one  year  ago, 
and  I  venture  to  assert,  that  not  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty 
of  them  all  have  been  at  the  communion  since,  or  even  go  to 
church. 

This  may  be  regarded  as  a  bold  venture,  but  I  make  it  and 
challenge  a  refutation  !  Where  are  the  remaining  two  hundred 
and  fifty?  Some  may  have  moved  to  other  places — a  few  may 
have  married  out  of  the  church  (although  none  of  the  boys  and 
very  few  of  the  girls  are  old  enough  for  that  condition  of  life), — a 
few  may  be  at  service  in  non-Lutheran  families  and  are  cared  for 
by  them — a  few  may  have  died — a  few,  very  few,  may  have  joined 
other  churches ; — a  few,  very  few  have  joined  English  churches  ; — 
but  allowing  all  this,  and  more  too,  at  least  two  hundred  are  not 
accounted  for.  Where  are  they  ?  Evidently  not  in  the  German 
churches,  nor  in  our  English  Luthern  churches,  and  why  ?  That 
is  now  the  question. 

I.  The  first  reason  I  give  is,  that  these  young  people  have  been 
but  superficially  taught  religious  doctrine  and  duty,  or  that  they 
are  for  the  most  part  too  young  fully  to  comprehend  them.  I  do 
not  intend  to  charge  most  of  our  German  ministers  with  lack  of 
fidelity  in  instructing  their  catechumens.  Some  of  them  meet 
their  classes  several  times  a  week,  for  six  months  together,  and 
their  pupils  learn  the  Catechism,  and  all  the  proof-texts  by  heart, 
and  it  is  interesting  to  hear  them,  on  examination-day,  most 
fluently  reciting  all  they  have  learned.  But  still  it  is  painfully 
manifest,  as  their  subsequent  course  demonstrates,  that,  for  the 
most  part,  it  is  a  mere  school  lesson,  learned  as  they  have  done 
their  geography  and  history.  They  seem  to  regard  it  as  a  neces- 
sary part  of  their  school  education,  and  Avhen  it  is  over,  that  is, 
when  they  have  been  confirmed,  they  think  it  no  worse  to  leave 
their  church  than  to  leave  their  school  after  they  have  finished 
the  scholastic  course.  The  fact  is,  they  are  regarded  as  pretty 
much  the  same  thing.  When  they  receive  their  school  certificate, 
they,  of  course,  leave  school,  and  when  they  get  their  confirmation 
certificate  and  have  paid  their  fees,  they  leave  church.  It  is 
distressing  to  say  these  things,  but  in  a  discussion  of  this  kind  the 
truth  must  be  told,  though  the  whole  truth  need  not  be  uttered. 
A  part  is  enough  for  our   purpose.     What  does  all   this  show  ? 


378  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Plainly,  a  superficiality  of  teaching  and  an  almost  necessary 
failure  in  impressing  u2>on  the  heart  a  proper  sense  of  religious 
ohl'gation  founded  upon  a  proper  understanding  of  religious 
doctrine.  In  a  word,  true  pieiy  is  absent,  and  I  fear  this,  for  the 
most  part,  results  from  imperfect  and  heartless  teaching.  If  it 
were  not  so,  the  majority  of  these  young  people  would  not  leave 
their  church  immediately  after  their  first  communion.  If  their 
hearts  were  right,  they  would  crowd  into  the  sanctuary — but  they 
are  not  there,  and  there  is  no  better  evidence  that  they  have  no 
piety.  I  have  heard  pious  German  ministers  themselves  complain 
of  this,  but  they  plead  old  church  customs,  national  prejudice 
and  the /ear  of  offending  iKirents,  as  good  grounds  for  the  contin- 
uance of  this  mischievous  system.  Some  have  not  hesitated  to 
say,  that  a  large  portion  of  their  support  depends  on  the  number 
of  their  catechumens,  and  hence  they  confirm  all,  with  an  excep- 
tion now  and  then,  who  come.  From  this  results  the  practice 
of  receiving  to  communion,  little  boys  and  girls,  who  give  no 
evidence  whatever  of  steadfast  religious  principle,  and  who  do 
not  understand  the  doctrines  and  duties  which  may  have  been 
faithfully  taught  them.  But  the  ignorant  parents  desire  it,  and 
even  strenuously  insist  upon  it.  The  minister  derives  a  consider- 
able income  from  it.  He  is  anxious  to  report  a  large  number  of 
additions  to  the  Synod,  and  his  pride  is  gratified  with  the  attend- 
ance of  a  large  class  upon  his  instructions.  I  am  strongly  tempted 
to  enlarge  upon  this  head,  but  will  forbear,  unless  I  am  contradicted, 
and  then  you  may  expect  some  strange  revelations. 

II.  Another  reason  is  that  that  a  love  for  the  church  is  not 
properly  instilled  into  the  minds  of  these  young  persons.  I  do 
not  mean  to  say  that  they  are  not  told  to  go  to  church  regularly, 
and  to  attend  to  other  outward  religious  duties.  I  know  the  con- 
trary, but  that  strong,  unwavering  attachment  to  Zion,  which  the 
Germans  happily  express  by  Kirchlichkcit,  is  not  properly  impressed 
upon  them.  They  have  very  imperfect  ideas  of  the  church  uni- 
versal. The  claims  of  their  own  congregation  upon  them,  they 
may,  perhaps,  superficially,  understand,  but  their  relations  to  the 
Kingdom  of  Christ  as  an  universal,  divine  institution  they  do  not 
recognize.  Hence,  the  majority  of  them,  when  they  leave  their 
own  congregation,  do  no'i  feel  bou7id  to  join  any  other.  They  cut 
themselves  off  entirely,  and  would  be  surprised,  and  perhaps  in- 
dignant, to  be  told  that  their  confirmation  vows  bind  them  to  the 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  379 

church  all  their  lives.  If  they  were  taught,  as  they  should  be, 
that  when,  by  reason  of  language,  or  distance,  or  some  other  good 
cause,  they  should  leave  their  own  congregation,  they  should  feel 
it  their  duty  to  join  an  English  Lutheran  church,  the  result  would 
be  very  diiferent.  To  the  honor  and  religious  zeal  of  some  Ger- 
man ministers,  let  it  be  said,  that  they  do  this,  but  it  is  to  be  feared 
that  but  few  are  of  this  character.  This  is  to  be  deplored,  but 
there  is  no  doubt  of  the  fact. 

III.  Another  reason  is,  that  the  parents  of  these  young  people 
do  not  set  them  a  better  example.  There  are  many  exceptions, 
but  alas!  how  is  it  with  the  majority?  They  are  satisfied  that 
their  children  are  confirmed,  and  there  it  ends.  Most  of  them  do 
not  go  to  church  themselves,  except  on  the  holy  days,  and  no 
wonder  their  children,  superficially  indoctrinated,  follow  their 
example.  They  absent  themselves  from  their  own  church,  and 
with  such  irreligious  examples  at  home  they  are  not  influenced  to 
join  any  other.  They  are  not  called  to  account  for  a  neglect  of 
their  confirmation  vows,  for  they  fear  the  terrible  retort :  "  Physi- 
cian, heal  thyself." 

IV.  Among  the  minor  reasons  are  :  First.  The  English  speak- 
ing Germans  of  the  poorer  classes  are  backward  in  associating 
with  Americans.  They  feel  awkward  in  our  society,  and  are 
afraid  of  being  laughed  at.  Second.  The  German  is  slow  in  form- 
ing new  social  connections.;  he  is  timid  and  with  good  reasons, 
perhaps,  in  some  cases,  thinks  that  the  American  is  proud  and 
regards  himself  his  superior.  Third.  He  fears  the  affected  hau- 
teur and  ridiculous  self-sufficiency  of  many  Americans,  as  well  as 
the  presumed  greater  cost  of  worshipping  in  an  English  church. 
Fourth.  Our  pew  system  may  keep  some  away,  though  the  reason 
is  futile. 

These,  and  a  few  other  reasons,  groundless  as  they  are,  may 
have  some  influence  in  deciding  the  great  question.  But  even  if 
they  were  tenable,  they  would  not  be  strong  enough  to  keep 
young  Germans  out  of  our  English  churches,  if  they  were  true 
Christians  and  loved  God's  House  as  they  should. 

V.  Finally,  the  German  ministers  themselves  are  severely  at 
fault  in  this  matter.  And  yet  not  all.  I  know  a  few  who  en- 
courage the  efforts  of  English  Lutheran  missionaries  in  their 
churches,  and  advise  their  English  speaking  young  people  to  cast 
in  their  lot  with  them.     It  would  be  absurd  and  unnatural,  how- 


380  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

ever,  to  expect  German  ministers  to  advise  such  of  their  young 
people  to  go,  who  still  understand  German  well  enough  to  be 
profited  by  German  preaching,  and  who  prefer  staying  at  home. 
This  we  do  not  ask,  but  we  do  complain  that  these  brethren  seem 
to  take  no  pains  in  directing  their  straying  sheep  to  an  English 
Lutheran  fold.  I  know  this  to  be  the  fact  from  painful  expe- 
rience, and  I  have  heard  of  others  which  I  am  slow  to  believe 
and  will  not  record.  I  directly  charge  them  with  dereliction  of 
duty  in  this  respect.  Most  of  them  are  culpably  negligent  in  not 
endeavoring  to  keep  their  young  people  within  their  own  congre- 
gation, and  much  more  so,  in  not  using  their  influence  in  retaining 
within  the  sanctifying  bounds  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  the  large 
number  who  wander  away. 

I  have  pretty  thoroughly  discussed  this  question,  and  have 
given  the  principal  reasons  why  our  English  pastors  do  not 
receive  more  of  our  semi-Americanized  Germans  into  their 
churches.  It  has,  this  moment,  occurred  to  me,  that  an  additional 
reason  might  be  given,  and  that  is,  because  so  many  of  this  class 
would  not  be  received,  even  if  they  applied.  That  might  be,  but 
the  fact  is,  so  few  apply,  that  we  have  no  opportunity  of  rejecting 
them,  and  we  had  better  wait  until  they  come  before  we  talk  of 
testing  their  religious  character.  I  would  state  (in  a  whisper, 
however),  that  there  are  some,  and  not  a  few,  of  our  Americans 
admitted  into  our  churches,  who  do  not  bear  a  better  religious 
character  than  many  of  the  Germans.  We  had  better  not  say 
anything  more  on  that  part  of  our  subject. 

My  experience  is,  that  very  few  German  ministers  like  to  talk 
on  this  matter.  They  evade  it,  if  possible,  and  very  naturally, 
for  they  feel  self-condemned.  They  are  aware  that  the  Church  is 
suffering  from  the  course  they  pursue,  and  yet  they  will  not  change 
it.  But  there  are  exceptions.  I  know  one  who  has  been  recently 
reasoned  into  an  acknowledgment  of  his  error,  and  he  is  now 
willing  to  have  English  preaching  in  his  church,  to  prevent  his 
young  people  from  straying  away.  He  deplores  the  result  of  his 
former  practice,  and  now  wishes  to  begin  a  new  career. 

But  our  German  ministerial  brethren  are  not  alone  to  blame 
for  this  unhappy  condition  of  things.  Let  us  be  candid  and  take 
a  large  portion  of  it  upon  ourselves.  How  can  this  be  made  out? 
Very  easily. 

We  have  kept  too  far  aloof  from  these  people,  and  have  not 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  381 

cultivated  their  acquaintance,  nor  sought  them  out  in  their 
wanderings.  AVe  have  not  tried  to  get  their  young  men  and 
maidens  into  our  religious  societies,  nor  invited  their  co-operation 
in  our  benevolent  undertakings.  We  have  not  sought  to  elevate 
their  social  position,  nor  tried  to  convince  them  that  we  do  not 
think  ourselves  above  them.  We  have  not  enlisted  the  services 
of  our  young  men  and  women  to  draw  back  these  sheep  straying 
from  the  Lutheran  fold.  We  have  not  been  anxious  to  distribute 
our  publications  among  them,  and  thus  show  them,  what  we  really 
believe  and  teach.  In  a  word,  we  have  "passed  them  by  on  the 
other  side,"  until  some  of  them,  at  least,  were  cared  for  by  a 
Samaritan,  not  of  our  family.  All  this  is  true,  and  let  us  be 
willing  to  confess  and  lament  it. 

That  man  has  but  little  acquaintance  with  the  German  character 
who  does  not  know  that  German  parents  are  gratified  when  their 
children  are  kindly  noticed  and  treated  by  young  Americans,  and 
that  these  young  Germans  tliemselves  regard  association  with 
Americans  as  a  badge  of  higher  respectability.  Let  us,  then, 
promote  social  relations  with  them,  as  far  as  is  proper,  and  we 
will  gain  many. 

I  would  propose  that  in  every  city  church  there  be  formed  a 
society  of  young  persons  with  this  special  design  in  view.  It 
would  accomplish  more  than  some  of  the  benevolent  societies 
already  in  existence.  Most  young  men  and  ladies  know  some 
young  Germans  of  the  class  under  consideration,  whom  they 
could  influence.  They  could  easily  find  out  many  others.  Let 
them  go  to  them  and  earnestly  represent  the  case,  and  every 
pastor  would  soon  have  reason  to  rejoice  in  the  happy  results.  It 
is  a  most  inviting  and  promising  field  of  Home  Missions.  I 
presume  that  every  church  has  among  its  members  some  of  this 
very  class.  They  are  the  persons  best  adapted  to  the  work,  but 
others  need  not  be  idle.  I  will  suggest  this  course  to  my  own 
pastor,  who,  I  know,  will  cheerfully  give  us  his  influence,  and  we 
shall  soon  have  an  "Inner  Mission  Socieii/,"  whose  exclusive  aim 
will  be  to  save  the  thousands  of  young  Germans  from  wandering 
away  from  the  church  of  their  fathers,  after  they  have  been 
received  into  it,  in  a  way  of  very  equivocal  propriety. 

I  should  like  to  see  the  whole  English  church  roused  into  action, 
and  it  will  require  very  little  to  do  it,  if  we  proceed  deliberately, 
intelligently,  prudently. 


382  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

MINISTERS  WHO  HAVE  LEFT  US  AND  THOSE  WHO  HAVE  COME  TO  US. 

During  this  period  of  fifty  years  some  ministers  born  and  edu- 
cated among  us  (and  some  of  them  at  our  expense)  have  left  us 
and  joined  other  communions. 

There  are  some  who  have  obtained  tickets  of  leave,  because  they 
have  utterly  failed  among  us,  or  have  rendered  their  ministry 
undesirable  to  any  of  our  churches.  A  few  have  gone  because, 
not  attaining  to  the  position  to  which  they  thought  their  distin- 
guished talents  entitled  them,  have  concluded  they  were  not 
"  appreciated,"  and  have  abandoned  us  in  disgust.  Probably 
there  are  a  few  now  in  our  ministry  v^^ho  are  of  the  same  opinion, 
but  remain  with  us  because  they  have  no  prospect  of  bettering 
their  condition,  and  because  no  other  denomination  holds  out  any 
inducements  to  them,  or  "  appreciates  "  them  more  highly  than  their 
own  people  do.  A  few  have  gone  because  advantageous  positions 
and  a  higher  salary  were  offered  them  by  other  churches;  and  a 
few  more,  because  by  that  step  they  expected  to  secure  a  higher 
social  standing  by  living  among  more  influential  and  wealthy  peo- 
ple. A  few  have  gone  because  they  have  exhausted  their  stock  of 
sermons  among  us,  and  go  to  a  denomination  which  orders  a  gen- 
eral change  of  ministers  every  few  years,  and  thus  their  ministers 
may  turn  up  the  under  side  of  the  scanty  bundle  and  start  on  a 
fresh  round.  A  few  more  have  gone  with  the  hope  oF  increased 
patronage  for  their  schools,  and  a  few  to  make  sure  of  a  desirable 
matrimonial  alliance. 

I  do  not  believe  that  more  than  three  or  four  have  bid  us  fare- 
well because  of  dissatisfaction  with  our  doctrine  or  government. 
With  all  the  rest  it  was  a  matter  of  expediency  and  convenience, 
and  hence  they  say  that  their  theological  views  are  precisely  now 
what  they  were  when  they  were  members  of  our  synods. 

I  will  first  give  a  list  of  those  who  have  gone  away  from  us,  as  far 
as  their  names  could  be  ascertained,  after  diligent  search.  I  cannot 
give  these  "departures"  in  chronological  order,  nor  name  the  sy- 
nods to  which  they  all  belonged,  nor  the  date. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  trace  the  subsequent  history  of  these 
men,  and  their  successes  among  their  new  friends.  Probably  the 
least  said  concerning  the  outward  prosperity  and  fate  of  some  of 
them  the  better. 

It  is  a  question  often  spoken  of  among  our  men,  have  we  as  a 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  383 

church  received  any  benefit  from  these  accessions  of  oxdsicle  min- 
isters? There  is  very  little  diversity  of  opinion,  and  yet  there  are 
synods  who  will  eagerly  snatch  up  any  starved-out,  dissatisfied  or 
incompetent  minister  from  another  denomination.  Now,  it  is  true, 
some  of  these  "comers"  are  true  and  useful  men,  but  it  is  also 
true,  what  a  blunt  Western  correspondent  of  mine  says,  whilst 
furnishing  me  a  list  of  "  comers  and  goers."  "  Some  of  these,"  says 
he,  "  are  good  men,  and  some  are  regular  soft  heads.  A  fellow  not 
dyed  in  the  wool,  cannot  make  a  good  Lutheran."  Why  then  do 
you  admit  such  fellows  ? 

MINISTERS    WHO    HAVE    LEFT    US. 
To  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 

George  Streibeck,  of  N.  Y.,  in  1805;  R.  J.  Miller,  N.  C,  in 
182  L;  Goodman,  Phila.,  in  1828;  Cruse,  N.  Y.;  Rumpf,  Hart- 
wick;    Scull,    Va.;    Koehler,    Md.;    W.    M.    Reynolds,    W.    Pa.; 

E.  Myers,  N.  Y.;  F.  M.  Bird,  Pa.;  C.  W.  Knauff,  Pa.;  H.  L.  Zie- 
genfuss.  Pa.;  Wiles,  E.  J.  Koons;  Pa.,  in  187G ;  L.  Riedel;  J.  C. 
S.  Weills;  C.  Steck  (returned). 

To  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
Goertner,  of  Hartwick ;  C.  A.  Smith,  Hartwick  ;    J.  F.  Smith, 

F.  W.  Brauns,  Md.;  A.  Essick,  Pa.  (returned) ;  H.  Bishop,  Md.; 
Sprecher,  Ohio:  Olmstead,  Wilson,  Crofts,  N.  111.;  J.  S.  Cook; 
Black,  Cent.  111.;  Shaver,  Cent.  111.;  English,  Hartwick;  Axline, 
Ohio  ;  Trimper,  Kansas,  in  1876  (returned)  ;  Willox,  N.  J.;  Fenner, 
Hartwick ;  Sternberg,  J.  K.  Kast,  Pa.;  J.  A.  Keiser,  H.  K.  Hen- 
nig,  A.  'Bartholomew,  E.  Lubkert,  C.  Steck  (returned),  W.  H.  Ily- 
man  (returned),  St.  John,  G.  W.  AVilson,  T.  Hill,  J.  Post,  J. 
0.  Hough. 

To  the  ]Methodist  Church. 

Miller  of  Cent.  HI.;  Haigler,  N.  C;  T.  T.  Everett,  Ohio,  in 
1877;  P.  Schmucker,  W.  A.  G.  Emerson,  G.  Wohlschlegel,  W. 
Bauermeister  (returned),  S.  B.  Hyman  (returned). 

To  the  Congregational  ists. 

M.  Officer,  of  Ohio ;  T.  Hill,  Billman,  St.  John,  N.  Ill ;  Kutz, 
Pa.;  C.  Sparry  (returned),  J.  K.  Eckman,  Kloss. 

To  the  Baptists. 

Hopkins,    of  S.  Car.;  Whittle,  of    S.  Car.,   in   1858;    Winder, 

G.  Schmidt. 

To  the  Carapbellites. 

McChesney,  Hoshour,  of  Md. 


38i  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

To  German  Reformed. 

F.  Kuckerman,  W.  B.  Rally,  L.  Richter. 

To  United  Brethren. 

C.  Nussbaum,  H.  Gathers. 

To  Moravians. 

Ricksecker, 

To  the  Universalists. 

Bosserman,  of  Ohio. 

To  the  Swedenborgians. 

Brickman,  of  Pa.;  E.  A.  Fiinfstuck. 

To  Rome. 

Oertel,  of  Missouri ;  Preuss,  of  Missouri ;  Schnurrer,  Brandt 
(returned),   H.  Baunistark. 

LIST    OF    THOSE    WHO    HAVE    COME 
From  the  Romish  Churcli. 

Peixoto,  and  F.  von  Badenfield,  to  the  Pennsylvania  Synod  ; 
Gustiniani,  to  the  Maryland  Synod  ;  J.  E.  Freggang  (left  or  drop- 
ped), C.  Maier,  C.  E.  Raymond. 

From  the  German  Methodist  Church. 

Winder,  to  the  Maryland  Synod. 

From  the  Methodist  Protest. int  Church. 

Hunt,  Appleby,  Jennings,  to  the  Maryland  Synod  ;  J.  Rollis- 
ton  (left;,  J.  Schoeflfer,  C.  Becker,  J.  H.  Honour. 

From  the  Presbyterian  Church.  ^ 

Ewing  (left  again)  and  Bradley  (left  again),  to  the  Maryland 
Synod;  Rankin,  to  the  Tennessee  Synod  ;  McDonald,  to  the  South- 
western Virginia  Synod  ;  H.  Gans  (left  again),  F.  R.  Tompkins, 
J.  Wolf,  J.  King,  J.  B.  Morris,  A.  Gans  (left),  F.  F.  Friedgen. 

From  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  o'hor  Methodist  Branches. 

Bell,  Smith  and  Jones,  to  Southwestern  Virginia  Synod  ;  J. 
Wolf  and  Emerson,  to  English  Synod  of  Ohio  ;  Vogelbach,  to 
Pennsylvania  Synod;  Short,  to  Southern  Illinois  Synod;  Krack, 
Lavender,  Tignier  and  Julian,  to  Synod  of  Georgia ;  Gibson, 
Mallinson ;  Sweitzer  and  Whittaker,  to  Synod  of  New  York ; 
Dorsey  and  Forsyth  (1876),  to  Synod  of  Maryland;  Anthony, 
Crist,  Grabill,  Hicks  (left),  to  Synod  of  South  Carolina,  H. 
Wells,  J.  Fry,  J.  D.  Chapman,    A.  C.  Frick,    M.  A.  Hockman, 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  385 

W.  J.  Leslie,  G.  Battersby,  E.  E.  Berry,  J.  Diefendorf,  N.  W. 
Cummins,  J.  C.  Myers,  J.  K.  Booker,  W.  Eckermeyer,  R.  Maze, 
W.  H.  Buttner,  G.  Dreher,  —  Williston,  G.  W.  Lewis,  J.  Kim- 
ball, A.  Bubrman,  L.  L.  Bonnell,  J.  W.  Miller,  Emerson  (2), 
J.  J.  Miller,  E.  W.  Erick,  F.  W.  Flemming,  W.  R.  Faris,  C. 
Sink  (expelled),  J.  A.  Beidler,  L.  Rice,  J.  Fleming,  J.  Sbafer, 
James  Williams,  to  AVittcnberg  Synod,  77;  J.  R.  Sykes,  D.  H. 
Snowden,  to  Kansas  Synod. 

From  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 

Muller,  to  Synod  of  Maryland ;  Behringer,  to  Synod  of  New 
York  and  New  Jersey  ;  Marriott,  to  Synod  of  Pennsylvania  (sus- 
pended) ;  Atkinson,  E.  V.  Tborn,  J.  0.  Bell,  J.  Gorden,  Edwin 
Potter,  from  Reformed  Episcopal  Cburcb,  to  Hartwick  Synod. 

From  the  Baptist  Church. 

Blessene,  to  Synod  of  Nortbern  Illinois ;  Sparry,  to  Synod  of 
New  York ;  Barnes,  to  Englisb  Synod  of  Obio. 

From  the  Congregational  Church, 

Collins,  to  Synod  of  East  Pennsylvania  ;  D.  M.  Hoyt,  S.  Kelso. 

From  the  German  Reformed  Church. 

Mebrwein,  to  Synod  of  Pennsylvania  ;  Herring,  E.  S.  Hernsey, 
A.  Steffens,  to  "Wartburg  Synod ;  Eckert. 

From  the  Dutch  Eeformed  Church. 

Emerick,  to  Synod  of  New  York. 

From  the  Moravian  Church. 

Eberman,  to  Synod  of  Pennsylvania  (left  again). 

From  the  United  Brethren. 

J.  Surface,  L.  Ricbter  (left),  G.  W.  Hussey  (dropped),  C.  Linn, 
J.  H.  Bratten,  C.  F.  Eckert  (left),  A.  Oberlander,  J.  W.  Sbreeves, 
P.  B.  Sbirk,  W.  D.  Trover;  J.  Hall,  C.  F.  Malzabn,  Tobias,  M. 
S.  Morrison,  C.  Caskrey,  J.  M.  Smitb. 

Tbese  are  all  of  botb  classes  wbose  names  I  could  get.  It  appears 
from  tbe  above  lists,  tbat  during  tbe  last  fifty  years  tbe  Lutberan 
Cburcb  in  tbis  country  bas  lost  seventy-three  ministers  by  witb- 
drawals  into  otber  denominations,  and  during  tbe  same  period  has 
gained  one  hundred  and  one  ministers,  wbo  bave  entered  it  from 
otber  cburcbes.  Tbe  lists  may  be  somewhat  defective,  botb  as  to 
accessions  and  losses,  and  some  few  may  be  credited  to  wrong  de- 
nominations. 


386  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

REVIVALISM    AND    NEW    MEASURES. 

About  the  years  1833-'40  nearly  all  the  churches  in  the  coun- 
try were  affected  by  an  extraordinary  religious  interest,  which 
was  especially  manifested  by  holding  frequent  meetings,  which  in 
some  instances  were  continued  several  weeks,  and  even  longer. 
Usually,  as  long  as  any  special  interest  was  displayed  by  the  nu- 
merous attendance  or  an  increasing  number  of  "inquirers"  ap- 
peared, the  meetings  were  protracted.  Sometimes  they  were 
closed  from  pure  exhaustion  of  the  ministers  and  their  helpers. 
The  constant  strain  and  excitement  of  several  weeks  hard  work, 
in  many  cases  both  day  and  night,  wore  out  the  strength  of  the 
most  vigorous  and  compelled  them  to  desist. 

There  were  men  of  other  churches  and  a  few  of  our  own  who 
had  the  reputation  of  being  successful  "  revivalists,"  and  these 
were  sent  for  when  any  unusual  excitement  was  evident,  or  when 
an  attempt  was  made  to  rouse  up  an  inactive  and  decaying  con- 
gregation. These  men  usually  attracted  large  audiences  and 
awakened  what  se,emed  to  be  an  extraordinary  interest  in  reli- 
gion. The  conduct  of  the  meetings  was  usually  left  to  them  en- 
tirely, the  pastor  being  but  a  subordinate  and  treated  as  such.  When 
the  "revivalist"  left  and  the  pastor  resumed  the  chief  command, 
having  neither  the  preaching  ability,  nor  the  rejDutation,  nor  the  tact 
of  the  man  whom  he  had  invited,  he  soon  found  that  he  could  not 
keep  up  the  interest,  nor  attract  the  crowd,  and  he  accordingly 
suffered.  In  many  instances  divisions  ensued,  and  the  pastor  was 
compelled  to  leave.  This  result  did  not  occur  so  frequently 
among  us  as  among  others  I  could  mention,  for  we  had  no  inen 
who  were  distinguished  as  "revival"  preachers,  no  men  who  were 
invited  to  the  cities  or  large  towns  to  "get  up  a  revival"  and 
conduct  it  exclusively,  and  few  or  none  of  our  men  called  in  the 
services  of  those  professional  evangelists  who  were  in  great  de- 
mand elsewhere,  among  people  who  could  afford  to  pay  them  well 
for  their  labor.  Hence  few  or  none  of  our  ministers  were  obliged 
to  leave  their  churches  as  the  result  of  a  "  revival  "  conducted 
by  a  stranger  ;  some  of  them  gained  a  surer  footing  by  their  own  un- 
aided efforts,  although  some,  for  want  of  discretion,  lost  the  con- 
fidence of  their  churches  and  found  it  convenient  to  move. 

I  remember  one  incident  connected  with  an  expiring  church 
(not  one  of  ours,  but  of  our  first  cousin's),  which  had  invited  one 


FIFTY    YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  387 

of  the  most  famous  and  really  strong  itinerant  "  revivalists."  The 
church  was  in  a  large  city,  hut.it  had  been  preached  almost  to 
death,  and  a  sad  state  of  things  existed.  The  pastor  thought  that  if 
he  could  get  a  crowd  in  his  house  of  worship  through  the  agency 
of  the  preacher  who  was  at  that  time  followed  by  multitudes,  and 
"have  many  converted  there,"  the  converts  would  probably  "join 
the  church  in  which  they  had  been  converted,"  and  thus  build  up 
his  decaying  establishment.  He  invited  the  popular  preacher  and 
he  went.  The  house  was  crammed  as  usual  wherever  he  preached. 
The  pastor  was  in  the  pulpit,  and  in  his  first  sermon  the  preacher 
turned  half  round  to  the  pastor  and  gave  him  such  a  lecture  on 
pastoral  unfaithfulness  and  church  deadness,  which  he  attributed 
to  the  pastor,  as  he  had  never  heard  before,  and  for  which  he  had 
not  bargained.  There  were  not  many  meetings  held  in  that 
church  and  "  converts  did  not  stay  there."  It  was  not  exactly 
polite  in  the  preacher  to  treat  the  pastor  thus  in  his  own  pulpit, 
but  that  man  claimed  and  exercised  "sovereign  sway"  wherever 
he  went. 

Many  of  our  ministers  in  all  sections  of  the  Church  earnestly 
engaged  in  this  revival  work.  In  some  places  the  services  were 
conducted  with  becoming  propriety,  but  in  others  unallowable  ex- 
travagances were  practiced.  The  "anxious  or  mourner's  bench" 
was  introduced  in  imitation  of  the  Methodists;  disorders  in  thf> 
meetings,  such  as  shouting  in  some  places,  and  groaning,  and 
members  praying  at  the  same  time,  women  praying  in  public, 
clapping  of  hands,  singing  of  hymns  of  doggerel  verse  to  the  most 
frivolous  tunes  and  in  protracted  repetition,  whilst  the  minister 
and  other  members,  and  sometimes  women,  were  speaking  to  the 
"mourners;"  these  and  other  "exercises"  were  not  only  sanctioned 
but  encouraged. 

All  the  usual  methods  of  rousing  the  feelings  of  the  audience 
were  employed,  sometimes  by  portraying  the  terrors  of  hell,  the 
recital  of  affecting  stories,  allusion  to  deaths  in  families,  violent 
vociferation,  the  singing  of  "lively"  tunes,  and  other  arts.  These  had 
the  desired  effect,  and  the  minister  would  invite  "  these  mourners 
to  the  altar  or  bench."  If  any  appeared,  several  brethren  would 
go  and  speak  to  them,  not  in  a  whi.sper,  bat  in  audible  tones,  and 
when  several  were  speaking  thus  at  the  same  time,  the  minister 
meanwhile  addressing  the  audience,  or  going  up  and  down  the 
aisles  and  pews,  urging  other  people  to  come,  who  had  a  serious 


388  FIFTY   TEARS    IN   THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

aspect ;  then  some  person,  and  sometimes  a  woman,  while  all  this 
was  going  on,  commenced  singing  some  exciting  hymn,  uninvited  ; 
and  probably  before  the  hymn  was  finished,  some  zealous  brother 
would  exclaim — "Let  us  pray,"  and  all  would  kneel  down,  and 
many  would  pray  nearly  as  loud  as  the  leader,  and  others  would 
heartily  respond,  amen  !  to  every  petition,  and  often  too,  most 
inappropriately.  When  they  rose,  some  one  else  would  commence 
singing,  in  which  all  would  join  if  they  could;  and  during  all 
this  time  the  brothers  and  sisters  would  continue  spes,king  to  the 
"mourners,"  This  series  of  exercises  was  continued  night  after 
night  (but  never  on  Sunday  mornings)  and  protracted  sometimes 
to  a  late  hour.  There  was  preaching,  but  that  seemed  to  be  a  su- 
bordinate part  of  the  performance.  The  main  dependence  was 
upon  the  singing,  praying  and  anxious  bench. 

Every  one  who  has  witnessed  these  scenes  as  they  were  enacted 
thirty  years  ago,  will  acknowledge  that  this  is  not  an  exaggerated 
statement. 

Some  of  our  plainer  people  also  adopted  what  I  would  call  the 
religious  slang  of  the  day,  and  used  the  vulgar  phrases  of  "  getting 
religion,"  "getting  through,"  and  others  of  like  character.  The 
results  of  many  of  these  meetings  were  large  additions  to  the 
churches.  In  some  places  from  eighty  to  one  hundred  and  more 
were  admitted  at  one  time.  Many  of  these  had  received  little 
or  no  previous  religious  instruction,  and  did  not  long  retain  their 
church  connection,  whilst  others  more  thoughtful,  have  maintained 
their  Christian  integrity  to  this  day.  I  know  many  of  our  most 
efficient  church  members,  whose  profession  was  the  result  of  this 
revival  system. 

Other  results  at  some  places  were  disastrous  to  our  Lutheran 
time-honored  practice  of  Catechetical  instruction  to  Catechumens. 
Many  people  conceived  a  distaste  for  this  slow  process,  when  they 
could  go  to  a  revival  meeting  and  "  get  religion  "  in  one  evening. 
Even  at  this  day,  when  another  class  of  ministers  has  come  in, 
they  find  it  hard,  and  in  some  places  impossible,  to  introduce  the 
system  of  the  fathers. 

Another  consequence  was,  a  dissatisfaction  with  the  use  of  the 
ordinary  means  of  grace,  and  a  constant,  unwholesome  longing 
after  excitement.  Two  or  three  "lively"  meetings  a  year  were 
essential  to  what  they  considered  their  Christian  life. 

Many  also  became  weary  of  their  ministers  if  they  did  not  by 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  389 

their  preaching  and  other  efforts,  labor  to  keep  "  the  fire  burning," 
by  which  they  meant,  exciting  and  sometimes  boisterous,  meetings. 

Some  of  our  ministers  who  favored  this  system,  also  lost  a  most 
disheartening  number  of  their  members.  The  latter,  upon  the 
slightest  pretext,  went  over  to  other  churches  given  to  such  mea- 
sures. They  saw  no  difference  between  their  own  church  and  that 
of  these  neighbors  as  far  as  their  proceedings  were  concerned,  and 
the  step  was  easy  and  short. 

The  name  "New  Measures,"  was  given  to  these  operations,  and 
fierce  was  the  discussion  in  the  Observer  upon  their  scriptural  law- 
fulness and  expediency.  Numerous  articles  appeared  on  both 
sides,  and  more  acrimony  than  was  becoming  was  displayed  in  the 
controversy.  The  editor.  Dr.  Kurtz,  was  a  vigorous  advocate  of 
the  system,  and  for  sixteen  successive  weeks  he  had  a  standing 
heading,  "  New  Measures,"  in  his  editorial  columns.  He  sanction- 
ed many  of  the  extravagancies  and  wielded  his  powerful  pen  in 
defence  of  them. 

During  this  period  of  religious  excitement,  a  very  remarkable 
little  book  entitled.  The  Anxious  Bench,  from  the  pen  of  Kev.  Dr. 
Nevin  of  the  German  Reformed  Church,  appeared,  which  gave 
fresh  vigor  to  the  controversy,  and  which  was  violently  assailed 
by  the  Observer.  Dr.  Nevin  replied  in  the  German  Reformed 
Messenger,  and  the  contest  was  carried  on  for  several  months. 

The  extreme  measures,  once  so  popular,  are  now  practiced  by 
very  few.  Moody  and  Sankey's  labors  show  that  strong  religious 
interest  may  be  awakened  and  sustained  without  violence,  and  this 
has  had  a  tendency  to  moderate  the  old  school  revivalists  and  to 
shake  the  confidence  of  the  people  in  the  old  system. 


RELIEF  FUND  FOR    SUPERANNUATED  MINISTERS,  WIDOWS    OF  MINIS- 
TERS— INSURANCE    LEAGUE. 

As  far  back  as  1831  the  General  Synod  laid  the  foundation  of  a 
relief  system,  but  it  was  insecure.  At  that  meeting,  held  in  Fred- 
erick, Prof.  S.  S.  Schmucker  moved  that  one-half  of  the  profits  of 
those  works  to  be  published,  with  the  sanction  of  the  General 
Synod,  *  *  *  shall  be  ])aid  into  the  treasury,  to  constitute  a 
fund  for  the  relief  of  superannuated  ministers  belonging  to  the 
General  Synod,  and  their  widows  and  orphans. 
25 


390  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY, 

A  committee,  of  which  Dr.  B.  Kurtz  was  chairman,  was  ap- 
pointed to  draft  a  constitution  for  the  management  of  this  fund. 

It  was  not  until  1837  that  a  regular  system  was  adopted  and 
trustees  appointed.  The  revenue  was  to  be  derived  from  the  sale 
of  hymn  books  and  catechisms,  and  $50  were  to  be  appropriated  to 
those  entitled  to  it.  (See  Proceedings  of  Gen.  Syn.,  1837,  at  Ha- 
gerstown).  C.  A.  Morris,  Dr.  Gilbert,  Isaac  Baugher,  Rev.  B. 
Kurtz  and  Prof.  Schmucker  were  appointed  the  first  trustees. 

At  the  subsequent  meeting  of  the  Synod,  held  in  Chambers- 
burg,  1839,  the  system  previously  adopted  was  repealed,  a  new 
constitution  was  adopted,  and  the  name  of  "Lutheran  Pastors' 
Fund"  was  given  to  the  organization.  It  was  a  cumbersome  docu- 
ment, consisting  of  not  less  than  twenty-five  sections.  There  was 
too  much  government  about  it,  besides  it  was  complicated  and  not 
easy  to  understand,  and  hard  to  be  carried  out.  It  contemplated  rais- 
ing funds  by  "  voluntary  donations,  subscription,  legacies,  &c." 
besides  having  some  features  of  a  mutual  insurance  society.  But 
it  was  adopted.  Frederick  Smith,  of  Chambersburg,  was  elected 
President ;  J.  G.  Morris,  Secretary  ;  Dr.  Gilbert,  Treasurer.  Two 
years  after,  at  the  meeting  in  Baltimore,  Dr.  Gilbert  reported 
sixty-three  dollars  and  ninety  cents  in  the  treasury.  In  four  years 
the  fund  was  not  increased  one  cent  by  donations  or  any  other 
means,  except  $36  interest  on  a  mortgage.  In  six  years  there  was 
no  addition  to  the  fund  from  other  sources.  In  eight  years  the 
fund  amounted  to  $1,184,28,  which  arose  from  accumulated  inter- 
est and  a  donation  of  $500  by  the  Synod.  In  ten  years  it  increased 
$136  from  interest. 

But  in  the  course  of  time  a  deeper  concern  was  awakened,  and 
at  the  meeting  of  the  Synod  at  Carthage,  1877,  active  measures 
were  adopted. 


PASTORS     FUND    OF   MARYLAND    SYNOD. 

This  is  an  institution  chartered  by  the  Legislature  of  Mary- 
land, and  has  accomplished  much  good,  cheering  the  heart  of 
many  a  disabled  or  superannuated  minister,  and  ministering  to 
the  relief  of  many  a  widow  and  orphan. 

It  was  established  at  the  session  of  Synod  held  in  Frederick  in 
1856,  and  has  been  in  successful  operation  ever  since.  It  does 
not  confine  its  benefactions  to  members  of  that  Synod  only,  but 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  391 

extends  them  to  all  who  are  in  need  without  regard  to  synodical 
territory. 

The  capital  invested  now  amounts  to  $4,546.73,  which  was  de- 
rived from  the  following  sources  : 

A  small  amount  was  subscribed  by  various  members  of  Synod, 
but  the  principal  sum,  $200,  was  received  from  the  sale  of  the 
Lutheran  Observer,  which  at  that  time  belonged  to  the  Synod, 
and  from  a  donation  of  $804  by  the  stockholders  of  the  "  Book 
Company  "  when  that  institution  was  dissolved,  which,  with  the 
accrued  interest,  amounts  to  the  sum  specified. 

The  appropriations  are  annually  voted  by  the  Synod,  which  are 
carried  out  by  the  trustees,  who  meet  soon  after  the  adjournment 
of  Synod,  when  the  report  of  the  Treasurer  is  received  and  the 
general  business  transacted,  all  of  which  is  reported  to  the  Synod 
at  its  subsequent  meeting. 

Usually  not  over  $100  are  voted  to  any  one  person,  and  never 
less  than  $50,  and  on  no  occasion  has  over  $450  been  appropri- 
ated at  one  time. 

The  number  of  claimants  has  never  exceeded  five,  and  of  the 
beneficiaries  for  the  last  several  years  not  one  was  a  member  of  the 
Synod  of  Maryland,  nor  was  the  husband  of  any  of  the  widows 
aided  a  member  of  that  body  when  he  died. 


LUTHERAN    MINISTERS     INSURANCE    LEAGUE. 

A  member  of  the  Synod  of  Maryland  had  thrown  out  some 
suggestions  relative  to  a  more  efiicient  method  of  benefiting  the 
widows  of  deceased  clergymen,  and  after  having  explained  and 
discussed  the  subject  in  the  Observer,  and  secured  the  interest  of 
some  friends,  a  meeting  of  gentlemen  was  held  in  Baltimore  in 
the  late  summer  of  1870,  when  the  "Lutheran  Ministers'  Insur- 
ance League "  was  formally  established.  The  corporators  were 
John  G.  Morris,  John  McCron,  William  D.  Strobel  (at  that  time 
a  resident  of  Baltimore  and  the  efficient  agent  of  the  Maryland 
Tract  Society),  Charles  A.  Stork  and  Philip  Hennighausen. 

The  object  of  the  corporation  is  "  the  exercise  of  mutual  benevo- 
lence and  the  mutual  insurance  of  relief  to  the  families  of  its 
deceased  members." 

The  initiation  fee  was  in  the  beginning  one  dollar,  but  graded 


392  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY. 

subsequently  according  to  the  age  of  the  applicant,  and  no  "  one 
over  fifty  years  of  age"  is  now  admitted. 

The  League  is  governed  by  Trustees  elected  annually,  and  for 
convenience  sake  the  annual  meeting  is  held  during  the  week  of 
the  session  of  the  Synod  of  Maryland. 

The  "League"  encountered  severe  and  persevering  opposition 
in  our  church  papers,  but  when  the  most  formidable  opponent 
acknowledged  his  error  and  joined  the  association,  all  controversy 
ceased. 

Four  hundred  and  seventy  of  our  ministers  have  been  or  are 
members,  of  whom  eighty-seven  have  died,  and  to  whose  families 
nearly  $19,853  have  been  paid.  The  number  of  living  members, 
according  to  the  last  report,  is  four  hundred  and  twenty-four. 
The  highest  amount  received  by  any  one  widow  was  $894. 

The  relief  which  the  League  has  furnished  to  these  widows  has 
rescued  some  of  them  from  dependent  poverty,  by  enabling  some 
of  them  to  open  small  stores,  purchase  a  small  house  in  the 
country,  pay  debts,  clothe  their  children  or  lay  in  a  stock  of 
winter  fuel  and  provisions. 

It  has  been  silently  pursuing  its  career  of  usefulness,  and  there 
are  many  who  rise  up  and  call  its  founders  and  supporters, 
blessed. 


STATE    OF    THEOLOGY. 


Fifty  years  ago,  when  there  were  less  than  two  hundred  minis- 
ters in  the  Church,  neither  the  Augsburg  Confession  nor  ajiy  other 
creed  was  regarded  as  obligatory  upon  them.  The  large  majority 
of  them,  however,  were  orthodox  in  the  usual  acceptation  of  the 
term ;  that  is,  they  accepted  the  evangelical  system  of  Christian 
doctrine,  and  a  large  proportion  of  them  preached  it  faithfully. 
But  many  of  them  were  not  strictly  Lutheran  on  the  dogma  of 
the  Sacraments,  or  at  least  they  did  not  attach  much  importance 
to  it.  It  never  was  a  subject  of  discussion  among  them,  and  hence 
there  was  a  great  diversity  of  sentiment.  Many  of  them  were 
not  thoroughly  educated  men,  and  they  gave  themselves  no  trouble 
concerning  the  distinguishing  features  of  our  faith.  They  were 
sturdy  Lutherans  in  name  as  a  party  signal,  but  sadly  latitudina- 
rian  in  their  theology. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  393 

To  SO  little  extent  was  distinctive  Lutheran  theology  discussed, 
that  it  may,  perhaps,  surprise  some  of  my  readers  to  learn  that  in 
the  three  volumes  of  Das  Evangelisdie  Magazin,  the  first  profes- 
sedly Lutheran  periodical  published  in  this  country,  the  subject 
of  our  doctrine  on  the  Sacraments  is  not  even  alluded  to. 

This  magazine  was  issued  in  Philadelphia,  in  1811-14,  and 
edited  by  Drs.  Helmuth,  Schmidt  and  Schaeffer.  Many  of  the 
influential  ministers  of  that  day  had  been  trained  by  these  men, 
and  they  were  all  very  moderate  in  their  Lutheranism.  Dr.  J.  G. 
Schmucker,  of  York,  one  of  their  pupils  in  1790,  Avas  the  only 
man  I  knew  who  was  pronounced  in  his  Lutheran  orthodoxy  ;  but 
I  am  not  certain  that  he  learned  it  from  his  Philadelphia  teach- 
ers. In  my  intimate  intercourse  of  over  twenty  years  with  Dr. 
J.  D.  Kurtz,  I  do  not  remember  that  he  ever  gave  a  decided  ex- 
pression of  his  views.  I  am  certain,  however,  that  he  was  not 
what  we  now  call  a  doctrinal  Lutheran  on  the  Sacraments, 

Dr.  Endrcss,  in  Lutheran  Intelligencer,  January,  1827,  p.  265  ; 
Dr.  Lochman,  in  his  "  Principles  of  the  Christian  Religion,"  p.  33, 
34  ;  Dr.  Hazelius,  in  "  Discipline,  &c.,  of  the  Synod  of  South  Car- 
olina," p.  20-23 ;  Dr.  Miller,  in  sermon  before  the  Ministerium  of 
New  York,  1831,  p.  8  ;  Dr.  Bachman,  in  sermon  on  Doctrine  and 
DisciiDline  of  Lutheran  Church,  1837;  Dr.  B.  Kurtz,  in  "Why  are 
you  a  Lutheran  ?"  p.  148,  and  some  other  influential  ministers, 
have  expressed  such  views  on  the  nature  of  the  Lord's  Supper, 
which  do  not  entirely  agree  with  the  teachings  of  the  Symbols 
nor  with  the  expositions  of  our  standard  Lutheran  divines. 

Before  the  establishment  of  Gettysburg  Seminary,  some  of  our 
ministers  took  private  pupils.  Rev.  David  F.  Schaeffer,  of  Fredr 
erick,  Md.,  Was  the  only  man  with  whom  I  was  intimately  ac- 
quainted, of  the  older  class  of  ministers,  who  taught  his  pupils 
the  true  Lutheran  doctrine  of  the  Sacraments.  Several  of  them, 
who  have  since  become  authors,  resolutely  defend  the  system  which 
was  maintained  by  him,  whilst  a  few  others,  of  very  superficial 
preliminary  training,  though  good  men  in  general,  were  not  zeal- 
ous in  the  defence  of  the  cause. 

But  there  was  another  school  of  men  in  our  ministry  fifty  years 
ago,  who  had  not  only  departed  from  the  Lutheran  faith  as  such, 
but  who  were  strongly  suspected  on  good  grounds  of  entertaining 
principles  at  variance  with  the  plain  teaching  of  the  gospel.  One 
of  the  leaders  denied  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  alone, 


394  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY. 

and  of  course  the  total  depravity  of  man  and  tlie  divinity  of 
Christ.  Another  openly  taught  Universal  ism,  and  a  few  others 
were  what  was  then  called  Rationalists.  None  of  them  ever  pub- 
lished their  unlutheran  sentiments.  Happily,  the  number  of  this 
school  was  not  large  ;  but  they  were  men  of  some  influence  in  their 
limited  circle,  and  infected  others  with  their  heresies  who  had  not 
the  moral  courage  openly  to  express  their  views.  I  have  heard 
several  of  their  cotemporaries  say,  such  as  Drs.  J.  G.  Schmucker 
and  J.  Daniel  Kurtz,  that  in  private  circles,  during  the  meeting 
of  Synod  (for  they  seldom  saw  each  other  at  other  times),  the  dis- 
cussions on  these  fundamental  doctrines  were  protracted  and  ear- 
nest. The  end  of  three  of  these  men,  whom  I  now  call  to  mind, 
was  disastrous. 

I  remember  once  traveling  to  a  Synod  as  a  mere  looker  on,  be- 
fore I  was  licensed,  with  one  of  the  youngest  of  that  generation. 
He  was  the  only  man  in  our  section  of  the  country  who  was  sus- 
pected of  unsoundne.ss,  and  he  was  very  cautious  about  expressing 
his  opinions,  for  he  was  well  aware  that  the  Synod  to  which  he 
belonged  would  call  him  to  account.  But,  as  we  were  jogging 
along  in  an  old-fashioned  gig,  he  hinted  at  Universalism  as  a  very 
consoling  doctrine.  Inexperienced  as  I  was  in  the  wiles  of  cun- 
ning men,  yet  still  I  suspected  he  was  trying  to  shake  my  faith. 
He  did  not  quote  Scripture  in  defence  of  his  views,  but  argued 
from  the  goodness  of  God  and  from  nature,  and  uttered  a  great 
deal  of  pretty  nonsense.  In  illustration  of  Final  Restoration,  as 
he  called  it,  he  pointed  to  a  fallen  tree  lying  by  the  road  side. 
"  See  ;  from  that  fallen  tree,"  he  said,  "  a  good  table  may  yet  be 
made."  I  knew  what  he  meant,  and,  before  he  had  time  to  con- 
tinue, I  quickly  retorted — "  and  yes,  and  after  the  table  falls  to 
pieces  it  may  still  make  good /ire  wood  !"  He  knew  what  I  meant, 
laughed  at  my  reply,  and  said  no  more  on  that  subject. 

Reports,  very  unfavorable  to  the  orthodoxy  of  some  of  our  min- 
isters in  a  certain  section  of  the  Church,  had  been  spread.  Bei'ore 
I  was  licensed  I  once  met  the  Rev.  Dr.  Alexander,  of  Princeton, 
in  Augusta  county,  Va.-  I  had  often  heard  him  preach  when  I 
was  a  student  at  Princeton  College,  and,  as  we  both  stopped  at 
the  same  hotel,  I  introduced  myself  to  him.  He  asked  me  whether 
it  was  true  that  most  of  the  Lutheran  ministers  of  that  section  of 
Pennsylvania  were  Unitarians.  I  was  too  young  to  know  much 
about  it,  but  I  hoped  it  was  not  true  ;  was  sure  it  was  not  true  of 


FIFTY    YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  395 

all,  and  of  none  of  the  city  clergy.  I  made  all  sorts  of  explana- 
tions and  extenuations,  which  were  neither  satisfactory  to  him  nor 
to  myself. 

Until  that  time  theological  instruction  had  been  given  almost 
exclusively  in  the  German  language.  A  few  of  our  ministers  who 
had  students  taught  in  the  English  language,  but  they  were  very 
few. 

The  German  text  books  used  were  orthodox,  but  the  instruction 
given  was  rather  superficial,  and  not  because  all  the  teachers 
were  incompetent  men,  but  because  most  of  their  students  were 
not  prepared  by  elementary  training  to  receive  or  appreciate 
higher  instruction.  Hence  many  men  were  hurried  into  the 
ministry  with  inadequate  preparation  and  immature  theological 
views.  They  were  not  bound  to  the  confessions,  and  a  rigid 
Lutheran  orthodoxy  was  not  required  of  them.  Most  of  them, 
however,  adhered  to  the  Evangelical  faith  as  commonly  under- 
stood, and  some  of  them  were  godly  preachers  and  pastors. 

There  were  some  well  educated  theologians  and  first-class 
scholars  among  the  men  of  that  generation,  but  they  were 
foreigners  who  had  been  trained  in  the  Universities  of  Germany. 
No  native  American  of  fifty  years  ago  had  attained  to  any  grade 
of  theological  scholarship  above  a  respectable  mediocrity.  A  few 
who  were  licensed  about  or  shortly  before  that  period,  have  since 
acquired  some  reputation,  outside  of  our  own  church,  as  men  of 
extensive  and  solid  learning. 

Before  fifty  years  ago,  our  men  had  no  opportunity  of  a 
thorough  theological  training  in  their  own  church,  for  we  had  no 
seminary,  and  our  few  learned  men  who  did  devote  some  time  to 
teaching  had  for  the  most  part  inferior  material  to  work  upon. 

There  was  no  book  on  systematic  divinity  in  the  English 
language  published  until  1826,  when  Rev.  S.  S.  Schmucker's 
translation  of  Storr  and  Flatt's  German  work  was  issued.  It  was 
published  at  Andover  and  had  considerable  circulation  in  New 
England,  for  it  was  recommended  by  some  distinguished  divines 
of  that  school.  I  remember  that  a  box  of  these  volumes  arrived 
at  Princeton  Seminary  when  I  was  a  student  there,  and  they 
were  examined  by  some  of  the  pupils,  who  pronounced  them 
unorthodox,  meaning  that  they  did  not  teach  the  calvinistic 
doctrine  of  predestination. 

A  theological  work  of  this  size  and  claims  was   an  event  in 


396  FIFTY   YEAR3   IN    THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY. 

those  days,  and  the  publication  secured  a  wide  spread  reputation 
for  the  author.  Some  of  our  own  men,  especially  the  pupils  of 
Dr.  Schmucker,  studied  it  with  great  advantage.  It  was  a 
thoroughly  Lutheran  book,  and  it  was  hoped  by  the  advocates  of 
a  sound  Lutheranism  that  it  would  become  the  means  of  establish- 
ing the  wavering,  enlightening  those  ignorant  of  the  faith,  and 
reclaiming  those  who  had  departed  from  the  old  scriptural  system 
of  doctrine.  Independently  of  the  high  Lutheran  ground  which 
the  oiiginal  work  takes,  the  translator  in  his  notes  and  addenda 
had  strongly  vindicated  the  Lutheran  faith,  thus  superadding  his 
own  testimony  to  it.  In  the  appendix  to  his  translation,  he  gives 
eleven  pages  of  extracts  from  Reinhard's  Dogmatik,  and  Mosheim 
illustrating  the  Lutheran  view  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  interspersed 
with  notes  of  his  own.  Any  one  desirous  of  seeing  what  Dr. 
Schmucker  designates  as  a  "lucid  illustration"  of  this  doctrine, 
should  read  this  appendix. 

Notwithstanding  this  exposition  of  the  true  faith,  the  Doctor,  Avho 
was  called  to  the  seminary  about  the  time  of  its  publication,  was 
not  known  to  be  ardent  in  the  defence  of  the  doctrine  in  his 
lectures.  A  second  edition  of  this  work  appeared  a  few  years 
after,  from  which  all  the  appendix  on  the  Lord's  Supper  with  his 
notes  was  left  out  /  And  from  that  time  forth  his  instruction 
became  decidedly  more  anti-Lutheran  on  the  sacraments.  The 
result  was  what  might  be  expected.  While  on  the  one  hand  the 
majority  of  his  pupils  left  the  seminary  with  undisguised  anti- 
Lutheran  tendencies,  there  was  on  the  other  hand  a  goodly 
number  who  assumed  the  opposite  extreme,  the  result,  as  they 
declared,  of  the  Professor's  lax  views  on  the  Sacraments.  They 
pursued  an  independent  examination  of  the  subject,  and  adopted 
the  teachings  of  the  confessions. 

Since  the  resignation  of  Professor  Schmucker,  the  theology 
taught  at  Gettysburg  has  been  more  confessional.  There  is 
nothing  said  to  depreciate  the  system  as  was  formally  done,  and 
which,  as  I  have  said,  had  a  reactionary  influence  upon  some 
students,  but  both  sides  of  the  question  are  fairly  stated,  with  a 
strong  leaning  to  the  right  side. 

Most  of  the  best  educated  and  most  influential  theological 
alumni  of  Gettysburg  Seminary  are  outspoken  in  their  Lutheran 
orthodoxy,  and  many  more  are  sincere  in  their  adoption  of  the 
true  faith  without  any  decided  demonstration. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  397 

The  publication  of  an  English  translation  of  "  Schmid's  Dog- 
matik,"  emanating  from  Gettysburg,  is  regarded  as  a  happy  sign 
of  reviving  orthodoxy.  Krauth's  "Conservation  Reformation" 
has  also  contributed  much  to  promote  the  progress  of  true 
Lutheranism.  Indeed,  the  appearance  of  these  two  great  books, 
may  be  regarded  as  an  era  in  the  history  of  our  Dogmatics. 

No  book  or  article  in  the  Evangelical  Quarterly,  directly 
assailing  the  sacramental  doctrines  of  the  church  at  the  present 
time,  would  meet  with  any  favor  or  defence.  Even  those  articles 
of  this  character  published  ten  or  more  years  ago  were  coldly 
received  by  the  few,  and  fiercely  attacked  by  the  many.  The 
authors  of  both  are  no  longer  of  us,  one  having  been  discharged 
by  his  Synod,  and  the  other  having  gone  to  the  Presbyterians. 

All  the  German  and  Scandinavian  Seminaries,  with  the  more 
decidedly  English  ones  at  Philadelphia,  Columbus  and  Salem,  are 
stringently  Lutheran,  whilst  Gettysburg  and  Selinsgrove  belong 
to  the  moderate  school,  at  which  nothing  is  said  or  done  to 
depreciate  the  doctrines  of  the  church,  as  was  formerly  the  case, 
at  one  of  them,  at  least.  At  both  the  church  is  exalted  and  her 
ancient  doctors  are  held  in  due  veneration.  Wittenberg  and 
Hartwick  have  given  no  public  demonstration  of  a  decided  Lutheran 
Richtung,  but  it  is  well  known  that  their  pupils,  from  which  fact 
alone  we  may  judge,  do  not  generally  maintain  an  advanced 
churchly  position. 

Our  religious  journals  have  not  for  years  contained  any  articles 
worth  noticing  and  proceeding  from  respectable  sources  antago- 
nistic to  our  peculiar  doctrines.  I  do  not  mean  to  intimate  that 
the  latter  are  universally  adopted,  but  that  the  opponents  of  them 
are  aware  that  they  would  assail  them  in  vain,  and  they  prudently 
hide  themselves  from  public  observation.  There  was  a  time 
when  their  articles  were  welcomed  in  the  Observer  and  other 
papers,  but  that  time  has  happily  gone  by. 


OUR    STUDENTS    AND    MINISTERS    IN    THE    UNION    ARMY. 

In  obedience  to  the  urgent  appeal  of  President  Lincoln  and  of 
Governor  Curtin  for  troops  to  repel  the  invading  rebel  army  under 
General  Lee,  a  call  was  posted  up  at  Buehler's  drug  store  in  Get- 
tysburg, on  June  IGth,  1863.     About  sixty  college  students,  and 


398  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

four  from  the  Theological  Seminary,  together  with  several  citizens, 
assembled  in  the  College  Campus  and  organized  by  electing  F. 
Klinefelter,  captain  (who  had  been  the  only  student  who  had  res- 
ponded to  the  first  call  and  served  under  General  Patterson  in 
Virginia  in  the  three  months'  campaign);  W.  F.  Hinkle,  first 
lieutenant;  L.  M.  Slater,  second  lieutenant,  H.  C.  Frey,  H.  C. 
Shindle,  S.  D.  Schmucker,  W.  H.  Rupp,  and  0.  L.  Fegley,  ser- 
geants; and  D.  H.  Yount,  T.  C.  Pritchard,  D.  F.  Rank,  J.  C.  Rol- 
ler, J.  C.  Dizinger,  E.  J.  Wolf,  J.  Irrgang,  corporals. 

They  immediately  offered  their  services  to  Governor  Curtin  and 
were  ordered  to  report  in  Harrisburg.  Early  next  morning  they 
were  in  line,  and  after  a  brief  address  from  Prof.  F.  A.  Muhlen- 
berg they  left  for  Camp  Curtin,  there  reporting  to  Gen.  D.  H. 
Crouch. 

In  consequence  of  some  dissatisfaction  with  the  terms  of  muster, 
several  thousand  troops  already  in  camp  refused  to  be  sworn  in 
until  the  terms  were  changed.  The  college  recruits  waiving  these 
objections,  manifested  their  faith  in  the  government  by  a  large 
proportion  of  the  company  mustering  into  the  service  on  June 
17th,  without  any  limitation,  the  same  as  volunteers  for  the  war. 
They  thus  secured  the  honor  of  being  the  first  company  mustered 
into  the  service  under  that  call.  Next  day,  the  terms  having  been 
changed  to  a  service  for  the  existing  emergency  in  the  Depart- 
ment of  the  Susquehannah,  others  were  sworn  in,  including  sev- 
eral who  joined  their  number  at  Harrisburg,  among  them  some 
who  had  formerly  been  students  at  Gettysburg,  but  whose  names 
I  could  not  obtain.  General  Crouch  hearing  that  the  majority  of 
this  company  were  students,  drew  upon  their  number  for  clerks, 
and  for  "  The  Signal  Corps."  In  this  latter  department  some 
remained  after  the  company  was  mustered  out. 

The  regiment  to  which  this  company  of  students  belonged  was 
commanded  by  Col.  Jennings ;  and  McKnight,  one  of  the  students, 
was  adjutant. 

The  regiment  hastily  and  imperfectly  armed,  was  ordered  to 
report  at  Gettysburg.  It  was  delayed  by  a  railroad  accident  and 
encamped  about  six  miles  from  the  town,  awaiting  further  orders. 
This  was  a  week  before  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  and  but  two 
days  before  the  advance  of  Lee's  army  entered  the  place.  There 
were  no  other  Union  forces  within  fifty  miles,  save  two  small  bodies 
of  cavalrv. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  399 

On  the  night  of  the  25th  one  hundred  picked  men  were  ordered 
to  proceed  toward  the  mountain  and  cut  off  the  rebel  pickets,  w'ho 
were  gradually  approaching  the  town  ;  but  the  heavy 'rain  of  that 
night  caused  them  to  be  detained  until  the  arrival  of  the  regiment 
in  the  morning,  and  they  were  thus  saved  from  capture  or  des- 
truction, for  the  rebels  were  advancing  in  force.  The  regiment 
marched  to  the  distance  of  several  miles,  encamped  and  threw  out 
pickets.  In  the  afternoon  the  rebels  made  their  appearance  and 
captured  forty  of  the  pickets.  Col.  Jennings  seeing  himself  vastly 
outnumbered,  and  knowing  that  his  seven  hundred  or  eight  hun- 
dred new  recruits  could  not  stand  an  attack,  ordered  a  retreat, 
which  was  conducted  with  singular  skill.  They  were  pursued  for 
miles,  but  Jennings  managed  the  affair  so  adroitly  and  deceived 
the  rebels  so  successfully  by  various  mano3uvres,  that  he  brought 
his  fagged-out  regiment  safely  to  Harrisburg  with  the  loss  of  only 
one  hundred  and  twenty  men,  most  of  whom  were  picked  up  as  strag- 
glers by  the  enemy.  These  young  men,  unaccustomed  to  exposure 
or  work,  marched  fifty-four  out  of  sixty  consecutive  hours. 

The  remainder  of  the  term  of  service,  ending  July  30th,  was 
spent  mainly  in  Fort  Washington,  opposite  Harrisburg.  Their 
whole  term  of  service  was  not  over  six  weeks. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  those  students  in  this  company  who 
afterwards  became  ministers  of  our  church :  F.  Klinefelter,  H. 
C.  Shindel,  T.  C.  Pritchard,  J.  C.  Roller,  J.  C.  Dizinger,  E.  J. 
Wolf,  M.  H.  Richards,  T.  C.  BiUheimer,  M.  G.  Boyer,  H.  S.  Cook, 
Phil.  Doerr,  G.  W.  Frederick,  F.  B.  Wolf,  H.  W.  McKnight,  J.  W. 
Finkbeiner,  W.  H.  Golwald,  S.  Henry,  A.  McLaughlin,  W.  E. 
Parson,  F.  Richards,  T.  L.  Seip,  J.  D.  Schindle,  W.  A.  Steck,  W. 
C.  Schaeffer,  J.  C.  S.  Weils,  H.  L.  Ziegenfuss,  J.  A.  Clutz  and 
others. 

The  sons  of  Lutheran  ministers  in  the  company  who  did  not 
become  ministers,  are  S.  D.  vSchmucker,  J.  M.  Krauth,  F.W.  Baugher, 
W.  0.  Bishop  and  C.  A.  Heilig. 

There  were  others  in  the  service  who  are  now,  or  have  been 
ministers,  and  among  those  whose  names  I  could  procure  are  L. 
M.  Heilman,  D.  H.  Geissinger,  both  of  whom  were  wounded  ;  T. 
F.  Dornblaser  ;  Rev.  McConaghy  fell  in  battle. 

Captain  McCreery  of  Gettysburg  also  raised  a  company,  of  which 
the  following  students  were  members :  G.  W.  Hemminger,  L.  W. 
Dietrich,  L.  W.  McKenzie  (now  Rev.),  H.  C.  Grossman  (do.),  H. 


400  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

W.  McKniglit  (do.)  He  joined  Captain  McCreery's  company  after 
Captain  Klinefelter's  was  mustered  out,  and  this  accounts  for  the 
appearance  of  his  name  in  both  lists.  H.  J.  Wortz,  Dr.  Wm. 
McKnight. 

The  Kev.  Mr.  Lingle,  a  licentiate  of  the  Illinois  Synod,  entered 
the  army  of  the  Union  early  in  1861  as  a  23rivate,  but  by  his 
bravery  and  attention  to  his  duties,  he  rose  through  the  various 
grades  until  he  became  a  captain.  He  was  in  the  midst  of  many 
hard-fought  battles,  but  always  came  out  unscathed.  He  remain- 
ed in  the  service  until  after  the  close  of  the  war.  After  the  death 
of  the  president.  Captain  Lingle  was  detailed  with  a  squad  of  men 
of  his  own  company  to  guard  the  tomb  of  the  great  president. 
So  he  pitched  his  tents  at  Oak  Ridge  Cemeter3',  and  there  for  six 
months,  night  and  day,  like  Rizpah  of  old,  he  watched  the  re- 
mains. That  this  precaution  was  necessaiy  is  evident  from  the 
well-known  fact,  that  quite  recently  a  most  daring  attempt  was 
made  at  Oak  Ridge  Cemetery  to  carry  off  the  bones  of  the  mar- 
tyred president,  but  for  what  purpose  is  not  known  ;  perhaps  with 
a  view  of  extorting  money  from  the  government  for  the  recovery 
of  his  remains  !  After  Captain  Liugle's  services  were  no  longer 
needed  at  Oak  Ridge,  he  returned  to  his  work  in  the  ministry 
and  is  now  (1877)  the  efficient  pastor  of  a  Lutheran  church  in 
Southern   Hlinois. 

Some  of  our  men  labored  faithfully  in  the  Christian  Commission 
work,  and  the  following  are  the  names  of  chaplains  in  the 
field  or  in  hospitals,  and  some  of  them  in  both :  Prof. 
J.  A.  Brown,  S.  W.  Harkey,  J.  H,  W.  Stuckenberg,  R.  F. 
Delo,  D.  S.  Truckenmiller,  W.  G.  Emerson,  A.  R.  Brown,  F. 
Springer,  D.  S.  Altman,  G,  Pile,  Jer.  Shindle,  A.  R.  Howbert 
(who  also  served  two  years  on  Gov.  Tod's  staff);  P.  Rizer  (was 
present  in  the  first  Bull  Run  battle,  afterwards  served  in  the  navy 
in  the  steamship  Vanderbilt,  and  was  present  at  the  bombardment 
of  Port  Royal,  Nov.  7th,  1861,  under  Commodore  Dupont);  J.  G. 
Butler,  F.  B.  Wolf  (army  of  the  Rio  Grande);  Rev.  S.  A.  Holman, 
chaplain  of  48th  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Volunteers. 

There  were  also  some  Gettysburg  students  from  the  South  in 
the  rebel  army.  I  remember  hearing  Prof.  Stoever  say  that  one 
called  on  him.  Another  named  Dinkle,  from  near  Winchester, 
was  killed  at  Fairfield,  eight  miles  from  Gettysburg,  and  another^ 
name  not  recollected,  was  killed  in  the  battle  there  and  is  buried 
in  the  National  Cemetery. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  401 

Some  of  our  ministers  were  rather  roughly  treated  during  the 
war.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Hay,  then  of  Harrisburg,  was  arrested  by  or- 
der of  General  Wool,  who  commanded  here  in  Baltimore,  and 
whose  department  embraced  Pennsylvania.  The  whole  affair  is 
so  interesting  that  I  give  an  account  of  it  as  it  appeared  in  a  Har- 
risburg paper. 

THE  ILLEGAL  ARREST  OF  THE  REV.  DR.  HAY — ITS  CAUSE — 
THE  HEARING — HONORABLE  DISCHARGE. 

We  have  already  announced  that  the  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  A.  Hay, 
minister  of  the  First  Lutheran  church  in  this  city,  had  been 
illegally  taken  from  his  home  on  Tuesday  morning,  on  the  strength 
of  a  telegraphic  dispatch  from  Gen.  Wool  to  Gen.  Wilson,  asking 
the  Provost  Marshal  to  secure  Dr.  Hay  and  bring  him  at  once 
under  guard  to  his  headquarters  in  Baltimore.  In  obedience  to 
this  dispatch,  Marshal  Kleckner  arrested  Dr.  Hay  on  Monday 
evening,  placing  a  guard  inside  of  his  residence,  and  also  one  on 
the  outer  door.  The  Rev.  Dr.  had  been  engaged  to  perform  the 
funeral  services  of  one  of  our  oldest  and  most  respectable  ladies, 
Mrs.  Judge  Hummel,  on  Tuesday  morning,  but  he  managed  to 
send  word  to  Mr.  William  M.  Kerr,  president  of  the  Harrisburg 
bank,  and  son-in-law  of  the  deceased,  that  he  would  be  unable  to 
attend,  and  that  he  was  held  a  prisoner.  Mr.  Kerr,  who  is  well 
known  to  every  man  in  this  city  as  one  of  the  most  upright  and 
loyal  men  in  the  country,  made  an  attempt  to  have  an  interview 
with  Dr.  Hay,  but  he  was  not  permitted  to  see  him,  nor  would  the 
guard  accompany  him  so  that  he  might  hear  all  the  conversation. 
Dr.  Hay  was  treated  worse  than  a  criminal  guilty  of  a  high  offence. 

The  writer  of  this  article  saw  Dr.  Hay  but  a  few  minutes  before 
the  cars  started,  and  upon  examination  of  the  paper  on  Avhich  the 
arrest  was  made,  it  was  discovered  at  once  that  the  whole  pro- 
ceeding was  illegal,  since,  by  an  express  order  of  the  War 
Department,  it  has  been  ordered  that  no  person  should  be  arrested 
unless  by  authority  from  the  War  Department  direct,  or  the 
Judge  Advocate,  General  Turner.  Dr.  Hay,  however,  perfectly 
conscious  that  no  oflfence  had  been  committed,  and  acting  as  a 
loyal  citizen,  who  would  suffer  any  privation  for  the  sake  of 
supporting  the  government,  submitted  to  this  tyrannical  proceed- 
ing and  accompanied  the  guard  to  Baltimore. 


402  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY. 

Before,  however,  we  give  tlie  proceedings  had  before  Gen.  Wool, 
we  will  narrate  the  offence  which  Dr.  Hay  committed,  in  the 
judgment  of  the  General,  and  for  which  he  was  summoned  hence 
to  answer. 

During  a  late  visit  to  Baltimore  he  met  with  the  wife  of  one  of 
the  leading  merchants  in  that  city,  who  boastingly  told  him  how 
those  who  openly  sympathise  with  secessionists  in  Baltimore  were 
permitted  to  take  sick  rebel  prisoners  captured  in  battle,  to  their 
homes,  and  quarter  them  among  their  friends,  and  that  quite  a 
rivalry  existed  among  them  to  honor  the  rebel  sick  and  wounded. 
This,  of  course,  mortified  Dr.  Hay  most  extremely.  It  was  almost 
too  much  for  a  man  who  had  devoted  day  and  night  to  the  care 
of  the  sick  Union  soldiers,  to  hear ;  and  knowing  the  lady 
intimately  as  truthful,  he  left  that  city  with  a  sad  heart,  deplor- 
ing that  it  could  be  possible  that  secessionists  of  Baltimore  can 
nurse  the  sick  rebels  while  our  own  Union  soldiers  are  left  to  the 
tender  care  of  hospital  nurses. 

Dr.  Hay  found  upon  reaching  home,  that  Rev.  Dr.  Lochman,  a 
highly  respectable  and  loyal  clergyman  of  York,  had  made  several 
applications  to  the  Surgeon  General,  asking  for  the  transfer  of  a 
loyal  sick  soldier  from  Camp  Curtin  Hospital  to  the  hospital  at 
York,  so  that  his  friends  and  relatives  might  minister  to  the  sick 
soldier  at  home.  This  reasonable  request  had  been  denied  to  a 
loval  man  who  had  been  fighting  and  bleeding  for  his  country. 
Feeling  indignant  at  this  contrast  between  the  treatment  of  rebel 
and  loyal  soldiers,  he  wrote  the  following  card  : 

Editor  of  the  Telegraph: — I  have  just  returned  from  Balti- 
more. Whilst  there  I  fell  in  with  a  lady  of  well-known  secession 
proclivities,  who  boasted  of  having  brought  away  from  Fort 
McHenry,  by  permission  of  General  Wool,  four  of  the  wounded 
prisoners  lately  transferred  from  Frederick.  I  inquired  if  they 
were  in  any  of  the  Baltimore  hospitals.  "No;  they  are  in  the 
hands  of  our  friends.  A  dozen  ladies  scrambled  for  them,  but 
I  had  already  promised  them  to  others,  and  they  are  well  cared 
for." 

Now  I  wish  to  call  public  attention  to  this  fact,  which  speaks 
for  itself.  Would  the  same  General  allow  similar  privileges  to 
loyal  ladies  in  behalf  of  loyal  soldiers? 

Charles  A.  Hay. 

Harrisburg,  October  24,  1862. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  403 

Dr.  Hay  arrived  at  Baltimore  at  one  o'clock,  and  was  ushered 
at  once  into  the  headquarters  of  General  Wool.  After  waiting 
some  time,  the  General  appeared,  seemingly  very  much  excited, 
and,  after  examining  several  papers  lying  on  his  table,  he  accused 
Dr.  Hay  with  being  the  writer  of  different  articles  published  in 
the  Baltimore  American,  remarking  at  the  same  time  that  "they 
were  all  a  pack  of  lies." 

Dr.  Hay  replied  coolly  that  he  had  never  written  anything  for 
that  paper. 

Gen.  Wool  then  remarked  that  an  article  had  been  published 
over  his  own  signature,  at  the  same  time  still  hunting  in  great  ex- 
citement over  his  papers,  but  unable  to  find  the  article  in  question. 

Dr.  Hay  then  stated  that  he  had  published  an  article  in  the 
Harrisburg  paper,  at  the  same  time  handing  him  the  article  cut 
from  the  Telegraph. 

Gen.  Wool  took  the  slip,  read  it,  pacing  up  and  down  the  room, 
and  stating  that  "  it  was  a  pack  of  lies." 

Dr.  Hay  answered  coolly  that  he  was  not  in  the  habit  of  tel- 
ling lies. 

After  this  conversation  Dr.  Hay  gave  a  fall  history  of  the 
transactions  at  Camp  Curtin  and  of  his  visit  to  Baltimore,  giving 
the  author  of  the  fact  that  secession  prisoners  had  been  taken  from 
the  fort  and  quartered  among  the  secessionists  of  Baltimore. 

Gen.  Wool  stated  that  he  had  an  official  account  of  the  trans- 
actions at  Fort  McHenry  before  him,  but  insisted  that  Dr.  Hay 
had  been  WTong  in  stating  that  he  had  given  permission  to  take 
these  secession  prisoners  from  the  fort,  at  the  same  time  not  de- 
nying that  this  had  been  done  by  the  commander  of  the  fort. 
Gen.  Wool  read  from  the  official  report  of  Gen.  Morris  concerning 
the  disturbances  there,  which  corroborated  many  of  the  statements 
of  Dr.  Hay's  informant,  and  satisfied  him  that  the  General  to 
whom  the  lady  referred  was  not  Gen.  Wool. 

Dr.  Hay  saw,  after  this  explanation,  that  the  deed  had  not  been 
directly  committed  by  Gen.  Wool,  yet  it  was  done  under  his  com- 
mand and  he  was  responsible  for  it.  He  told  the  General  at  once 
that  he  had  no  hesitation  in  saying  publicly  that  he  had  been  in 
error  in  regard  to  the  person  granting  such  permission. 

This  seemed  to  satisfy  the  General,  who  had  no  doubt  heard  of 
some  in  connection  with  the  aff"air,  and  he  thereupon  discharged 
Dr.  Hay  without  condition. 


404  FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY. 

This  illegal  arrest  and  examination  has  ended  in  failing  to  dis- 
prove the  fact  that  some  one  under  the  control  of  General  Wool 
had  permitted  four  secession  prisoners  to  be  taken  from  the  fort 
and  quartered  among  secessionists  in  Baltimore,  which  privilege 
has  been  denied  to  Union  soldiers.  We  are  therefore  glad  that  an 
opportunity  has  been  given  to  investigate  this  matter,  and  we 
have  no  doubt  that  the  illegal  arrest  of  Dr.  Hay  will  bring  about 
the  discharge  of  incompetent  officers  (to  use  the  mildest  term)  and 
arrest  abuses  in  the  department  of  Gen.  Wool,  which  have  grown 
almost  insuiferable  to  loyal  men. 

Gov.  Curtin  telegraphed  at  once,  when  he  ascertained  the  arrest 
of  Dr.  Hay,  to  the  War  Department,  asking  his  immediate  re- 
lease. Secretary  Stanton  answered  promptly  that  no  authority 
had  been  given  for  such  arrest,  and  desired  to  know  by  whom  it 
was  ordered.  This  shows  clearly  that  the  whole  responsibility 
rests  upon  Gen.  Wool,  and  that  he  will  have  to  answer  for  his  con- 
duct to  a  higher  power.  The  administration  is  not  in  the  least  to 
blame,  as  it  was  done  without  its  knowledge.  The  whole  matter 
will  be  laid  before  the  War  Department,  and  somebody  discover 
that,  however  they  may  act  the  tyrant  over  a  sick  soldier  and  dis- 
charge rebel  prisoners,  they  will  not  be  permitted  to  drag  loyal 
,  and  better  men  from  their  homes  with  impunity. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Stirewall,  of  Virginia,  was  one  night  ordered  out 
of  his  bed  and  was  told  to  prepare  himself  for  death  by  hanging. 
He  demanded  the  order  for  his  execution  from  the  rebel  savages, 
and  succeeded  in  setting  so  clearly  before  them  the  civil  and  mil- 
itary wrong  of  putting  him  to  death  without  order,  and  the  ter- 
rible consequences  to  themselves  as  murderers,  that  they  finally 
left  the  premises  without  doing  him  any  harm. 

A  similar  event  is  related  concerning  the  Rev.  Mr,  Jenkins,  of 
Tennessee,  the  particulars  of  which  I  do  not  know. 

MURDER   OF    REV.    MR.    GLENN. 

Rev.  Mr.  Glenn  was  the  pastor  of  a  Lutheran  church  at  Corydon, 
Indiana.  He  was  a  strong  Union  man  but  too  old  for  service  in 
the  army.  He  resided  in  the  country,  not  far  from  Corydon.  His 
family  consisted  of  his  wife  and  children,  among  which  were  two 
full  grown  daughters.  One  evening  just  as  they  had  eaten  their 
supper,  a  number  of  soldiers  on  horseback  made  their  appearance 
at  the  Darsonage.     One  of  the  soldiers,  quite  gentlemanly  in  his 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  405 

appearance,  came  into  the  house  and  inquired  whether  they  could 
give  them  something  to  eat?  The  pastor  said,  "  Yes,  certainly,  if 
there  are  not  too  many  of  you."  "  Well  there  are  only  ten  of  us, 
and  we  are  very  hungry."  The  women  commenced  getting  the 
supper.  The  ten  men,  who  consisted  of  the  rebel  Col.  Morgan  and 
his  staff,  then  came  into  the  house,  and  each  man  had  his  liquor 
in  his  canteen — and  they  took  pretty  heavy  drafts,  so  that  by  the 
time  the  supper  was  ready  they  were  all  pretty  well  intoxicated. 
Of  course  Mr.  Glenn  did  not  know  who  his  obstreperous  guests 
were.  At  the  supper-table  the  wife  and  daughters  were  most 
grossly  insulted  by  those  men.  Mr.  Glenn  could  bear  it  no  longer 
and  began  to  remonstrate  with  the  men  for  their  rudeness.  But 
they  only  laughed  at  him,  and  said,  "  Old  fellow,  you  evidently 
don't  know  who  we  are,  or  you  would  not  talk  so  to  us."  "  Well,  I 
supposed  that  you  were  gentlemen,  and  would  so  far  respect  the 
rights  of  hospitality,  and  in  the  presence  of  ladies  as  not  to  act 
so  rudely."  Morgan  replied,  "  To  hell  with  your  preaching  !"  and 
drawing  his  revolver,  he  said,  "  Now,  old  fellow,  you  had  better 
shut  up,  or  you  will  get  yourself  riddled."  At  that  moment 
Mr.  Glenn  arose,  perhaps  to  leave  the  room,  and  one  of  the  men  cried 
out,  "  Shoot  him  !"  Morgan  fired,  and  the  pastor  fell  with  a  bullet 
in  his  brains.  As  soon  as  the  family  saw  this  they  fled  and  hid 
themselves  in  a  thicket  not  far  from  the  house,  and  thus  escaped 
the  brutality  of  those  infamous  rebels. 

As  soon  as  they  had  finished  their  supper,  they  set  fire  to  the 
house,  and  when  they  saw  it  well  under  way  they  mounted  their 
horses  and  continued  their  daring  raid.  The  house  was  burned, 
and  the  body  of  Rev.  Mr.  Glenn  with  it.  This  was  one  of  the 
sad  results  of  Morgan's  raid  into  Indiana  and  Ohio,  and  this  was 
one  of  the  scenes  that  awakened  the  people  to  a  sense  of  their 
danger,  and  raised  an  army  of  indignant  men,  who  followed  these 
daring  outlaws,  and  at  last  captured  them  in  Columbiana  county, 
Ohio.  Morgan  himself  was  captured  and  put  in  prison  at 
Columbus.  He  broke  jail  there  and  made  his  escape,  but  died 
afterwards,  and  has  gone  to  settle  his  long  account  of  misdeeds 
before  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth. 


LEGACIES    AND    DONATIONS. 


Rev.  Mr.  Hartwick's  legacy  to  found  an  institution  of  learning, 
and  Mr.  Frey's,  a  layman,  for  the   establishment  of   an  orphan 

2a 


406  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

house  at  Micldietown,  Pa.,  are  events  which  occurred  before  fifty 
years  ago,  and  in  regard  to  them  I  will  content  myself  with  point- 
ing out  the  sources  of  information  to  those  desirous  of  investiga- 
ting these  subjects. 

In  Sprague's  Annals,  Dr.  Pohlman's  address  at  the  semi-centen- 
nial anniversary  of  Hartwick  Seminary,  1867,  and  Stoever's 
Reminiscences  in  the  Evangelical  Review,  the  student  will  find 
everything  necessary ;  and  concerning  Frey,  he  may  consult 
the  Lutheran  Observer,  October  7,  1838,  and  April  28,  1838; 
Evangelical  Review,  XII,  p.  574,  and  the  proceedings  of  the 
Synod  of  East  Pennsylvania  of  the  same  period. 

The  largest  legacy  made  during  the  fifty  years  was  one  of  $20,000, 
made  to  Pennsylvania  College  by  Charles  A.  Morris,  of  York. 

Mr.  Thiol,  a  wealthy  German,  beqiieathed  a  larger  amount  to 
found  a  college,  which  was  named  after  him,  and  which  is  located 
at  Greenville,  Pa. 

Mr.  Jacob  Straub,  of  Danville,  Pa.,  left  a  legacy  of  several  thou- 
sand dollars,  to  be  divided  between  several  Synods  for  literary 
and  benevolent  purposes. 

Mr.  Davis  Pierson,  of  Philadelphia,  bequeathed  to  Pennsylvania 
College  a  certain  amount  of  stocks  in  coal  mines,  valued  at  $20,000, 
but  from  which  only  $12,000  -were  realized. 

The  donations  to  Pennsylvania  College  were  $20,000  by  Messrs. 
A.  F.  and  G.  P.  Ockershausen,  of  New  York  ;  C.  A.  Morris  gave 
$5000  at  various  times,  and  the  following  persons  gave  $1000  or 
more  to  the  same  institution  :  Samuel  Appold,  Rev.  Dr.  F.  W. 
Conrad,  Jacob  Garver,  Martin  Buehler,  Thos.  Baumgardner,  0. 
E.  Shannon,  E.  Roehm,  C.  Yeager,  F.  and  H.  Baumgardner,  Ed- 
ward G.  Smyser,  John  Eyerman,  J.  Donald  Cameron,  M.  B.  Spahr, 
Weiser,  Son  and  Carl,  William  Smith,  &c.,  &c. 

Thaddeus  Stevens  gave  $1000  towards  the  erection  of  the  build- 
ing for  the  Prej^aratory  Department. 

The  whole  amount  of  the  college  endowment  is  (1877) 
$110,201.32.     The  liabilities  amount  to  $8750. 

The  cost  of  the  observatory  of  Pennsylvania  College  was  $4750, 
to  the  erection  of  which  Samuel  Appold,  of  Baltimore,  contributed 
liberally. 

The  legacies  to  the  Theological  Seminary  were  $2  "00  by  Mr. 
King,  of  Adams  county.  Pa.;  $2500  by  Mrs.  Thorn,  of  Carlisle, 
Pa.,  the  widow  of  a  Lutheran  minister,  formerly  an  Episcopalian ; 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  407 

C.  A.  Morris  bequeathed  $1000;  Miss  Motter,  of  Frederick,  Md., 
$500  ;  Mr.  Stroup,  $500. 

The  Graff  family,  at  Pittsburg,  gave  to  the  Gettysburg  Seminary 
$10,500. 

The  following  persons  have  given  each  $500 :  C.  W.  Humric- 
house,  Mrs.  C.  Hager,  David  Artz,  Mrs.  B.  Heilman,  D.  R.  Earn- 
say,  C.  C.  Mason,  J.  Westley,  J.  0.  Bridge.^,  Dr.  T.  Stork,  Wm. 
Auspach,  John  Rouzahn,  Rev.  Dr.  F.  W.  Conrad,  Samuel  Garver, 
Jacob  Garver,  Samuel  Bireley,  G.  M.  Dove,  Rev.  Dr.  Hay.  It  is 
proper  to  state  that  these  gifts  have  been  received  during  the 
term  of  the  present  Treasurer,  Daniel  Kraber,  of  York,  who  in- 
forms me  that  he  holds  notes  to  the  amount  of  some  thousands, 
which  he  does  not  consider  "  good,"  and  which  are  not  noticed  in 
this  account. 

There  is  one  note  for  $1000,  payable  after  the  death  of  the 
giver,  which  is  considered  "  good,"  and  another  obligation  which 
is  estimated  at  $5000  of  the  same  condition. 

A  short  time  ago  (August  1877)  Dr.  Brown  handed  to  the 
Treasurer  $5000,  the  proceeds  of  the  Jubilee  Fund. 

The  endowment  of  Gettysburg  Seminary  is  at  this  time,  in 
round  numbers,  $100,000,  which  produced  by  interest  last  year 
$5146.  The  salaries  of  the  professors  amount  to  $5000,'  and 
contingent  expenses  from  $300  to  $500  annually,  so  that  the 
endowment  is  not  sufficient  to  support  the  institution. 

The  following  persons  have  given  each  $1000  to  Roanoke 
College :  Michael  Miller,  Geo.  Miller,  Samuel  Hulbert,  Jacob 
Miller,  Miss  Sallie  Miller. 

To  the  Philadelphia  Seminary,  Mr.  Norton,  of  that  city,  gave 
$30,000  to  found  a  professorship,  and  Mrs.  Burkhalter,  of  the  city 
of  New  York,  an  equal  amount. 

George  Lefler,  of  Philadelphia,  bequeathed  $1000  to  the  same 
institution. 

Henry  Muller,  of  Piatt's  Springs,  Lexington  county,  S.  C.gave 
$4000  at  one  time  to  the  Theological  Seminary,  then  located  at 
Lexington,  and  subsequently  a  second  donation  of  $2000, 

West  Caughman  made  a  donation  of  $1000  to  the  same  insti- 
tution. 

David  Ewart,  of  Columbia,  S.  C,  gave  $10,000  in  stock  of 
Columbia  Bridge  Company,  to  the  Seminary. 

Charles  Courter,  of  Cobleskill,  N.  Y.,  has  given  $20,000  towards 
the  erection  of  a  Lutheran  church  in  that  village 


408  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

The  only  person  that  I  know  who  has  given  more  than  $1000 
to  Foreign  Missions,  is  the  widow  of  a  Lutheran  minister,  whose 
contributions  now  amount  to  upwards  of  $4000. 

Obadiah  Ware  bequeathed  $2000  to  the  Lutheran  church  in 
Butler,  111.,  in  1876,  the  interest  to  be  applied  to  the  support  of 
the  minister. 

Rev.  J.  Wolf,  Avho  came  to  the  Synod  of  Northern  Indiana, 
bequeathed  his  farm  of  eighty  acres,  worth  $75.00  an  acre,  to 
Wittenberg  College. 

John  W.  Cooper,  of  Savannah,  Ga.,  (not  a  Lutheran)  bequeathed 
$1000  to  the  Lutheran  church  of  that  city. 

Frederick  Seyler,  of  Baltimore,  bequeathed  $1000  to  the  First 
English  Lutheran  church  of  that  city. 

George  Lefler,  of  Philadelphia,  bequeathed  $4500  to  the  Synod 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  one-fourth  part  of  the  remainder  of  his 
estate  after  the  death  of  his  widow. 

Miss  Adelaide  Sager,  of  Philadelphia,  bequeathed  $6000  to  St. 
Matthew's  church,  Philadelphia,  and  $20,000  to  Pennsylvania 
College,  Gettysburg. 

It  was  exceedingly  difficult  to  collect  reliable  information  upon 
this  subject  of  legacies  and  donations,  and  no  doubt  many  have 
been  undesignedly  omitted. 


POLITICAL    OFFICE. 

Very  few  of  our  ministers  have  ever  aspired  io  political  dis- 
tinction, or,  at  least,  have  succeeded  in  attaining  it.  Henry  A. 
Muhlenberg  was  a  member  of  Congress  and  Ambassador  to  Aus- 
tria, and  John  A.  Schultz,  in  his  early  days  a  minister  of  our 
church,  was  Governor  of  Pennsylvania. 

I  know  a  few  in  Pennsylvania  who  were  candidates  for  Congress, 
but  they  were  defeated  in  the  election,  w^hich  was  better  for  them 
and  the  country. 

Rev.  Dr.  J.  G.  Butler  is  the  only  Lutheran  minister  who  was 
ever  elected  Chaplain  to  the  House  of  Representatives  or  the 
Senate. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  409 


CHURCH  TRIALS  IN  CIVIL  COURTS. 


No  doubt  there  have  been  more  cases  of  this  character  than 
have  come  prominently  before  the  public,  and  which  I  have  failed 
to  notice.  They  are  not  pleasant  subjects,  and  usually  do  not  ex- 
cite much  interest  beyond  those  immediately  concerned.  The 
following  are  well  authenticated  cases,  and  grew  out  of  the  for- 
mation of  the  General  Council,  and  all  occurred  in  Pennsylvania: 

I. — THE    LEECHBURG   CHURCH    SUIT. 

The  decision  of  Judge  Logan  in  the  Leechburg  church  suit  was 
filed  in  the  court  of  Armstrong  county.  By  that  decision  the 
petition  of  the  seceding  portion  of  the  Hebron  Evangelical 
Lutheran  congregation,  of  Leechburg,  to  have  an  amendment 
granted  to  the  charter  of  said  congregation,  transferring  it  and  its 
property  to  the  General  Council,  has  been  rejected.  An  injunction 
restraining  the  General  Council  minority  from  holding  the  church 
building,  and  putting  its  lawful  owners,  the  organization  faithful 
to  the  General  Synod,  into  possession  thereof,  was  issued  at  the 
following  September  court. 

As  this  case  has  excited  a  great  deal  of  interest,  not  only  in  this 
and  adjoining  congregations,  but  throughout  the  greater  part  of 
the  Lutheran  Church,  and  amongst  other  denominations,  a  brief 
resume  thereof,  and  of  some  of  the  leading  facts  therein  connected, 
may  not  be  out  of  place  at  this  time. 

Under  the  ministration  of  Rev.  L.  M.  Kuhns,  which  continued 
for  about  eleven  years,  the  Hebron  Lutheran  congregation  was 
one  of  the  most  flourishing  in  the  whole  church.  Whilst  he  was 
pastor,  in  1864,  an  amendment  was  granted  to  the  charter,  by 
which  the  congregation  and  the  aqademy,  which  was  built  in  that 
year,  were  brought  into  connection  with  the  General  Synod — or 
rather,  the  congregation  was  required  to  be  in  connection  with 
the  General  Synod,  for  prior  to  this  it  belonged  already,  indeed, 
to  that  body,  but  only  by  virtue  of  its  connection  with  the  Pitts- 
burg Synod.     Rev.  Mr.  Kuhns  ceased  to  be  pastor  of  the  congre- 


410  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

gation  April  1st,  1866.  He  was  at  once  succeeded  by  Rev.  J, 
Sarver,  who  still  serves  the  General  Council  organization.  During 
the  first  year  of  his  ministry,  when  the  church  troubles  first  be- 
gan in  this  region,  Mr.  Sarver  made  some  efforts  to  have  a  change 
made  in  the  charter,  but  for  certain  reasons  he  soon  desisted. 
Near  the  close  of  his  first  year  he  announced  that  unless  the  char- 
ter were  changed  he  could  not  remain  as  pastor,  inasmuch  as  he 
had  resolved  to  follow  the  fortunes  of  the  General  Council.  By 
a  compromise,  however,  it  was  resolved  to  retain  him  a  second 
year,  but  as  a  supply  merely.  In  this  compromise  it  was  agreed 
that  there  should  be  no  unnecessary  doctrinal  discussion.  Despite 
this  arrangement,  however,  the  peculiar  doctrines  of  the  General 
Council,  as  held  in  its  "  Fundamental  Principles  of  Faith  and 
Polity,"  were  preached  from  time  to  time;  so  that,  early  in  1868, 
the  members  of  the  congregation  faithful  to  the  General  Synod, 
having  become  alarmed,  desired  that  a  minister  of  the  General 
Synod  might  also  be  allowed  to  preach  in  the  church,  so  that  their 
side  might  have  a  hearing  also.  This  desire  they  expressed,  but 
their  reasonable  request  was  refused.  There  was,  therefore,  no 
alternative  but  to  seek  another  place  in  which  to  have  the  gospel 
preached  to  them.  They  found  a  shelter,  for  a  brief  time,  in  the 
Presbyterian  building,  and  subsequently  in  that  of  the  Methodists. 
Soon  after  they  adjourned  to  the  academy  building,  which  was 
under  their  control,  having  previously  called  Rev.  H.  H.  Hall  as 
their  pastor.  And  while  here  four  members  of  the  board  of  trus- 
tees of  the  academy,  all  General  Council  men,  and  among  them 
the  pastor,  snugly  occupying  a  church  not  belonging  to  him,  sol- 
c'lanly  protested  against  their  holding  service  even  there. 

On  the  5th  of  March,  1868,  a  congregational  meeting  was  held, 
and  a  vote  taken  for  and  against  a  change  of  charter.  The  VQte 
stood  fifty-seven  for  and  forty-two  against  a  change.  Subsequently 
seven  persons,  who  had  not  understood  the  merits  of  the  question, 
and  who  had  voted  yea,  changed  their  votes  to  nay,  making  the 
vote  stand  fifty  for  and  forty-nine  against  a  change.  Rev.  Mr. 
Sarver  and  council  refused  to  permit  Messrs.  Salem  Hill,  David 
Kuhns  and  Andrew  Sober  to  vote,  although  they  were  entitled  to 
vote,  as  Mr.  Boggs  clearly  demonstrated  in  his  argument  before 
the  court,  from  the  church  record  kept  by  Mr.  Sarver  s  ov:n  coiln- 
cil !  So  that  in  reality  the  nays  were  in  a  majority.  In  this 
condition  of  things  the  General  Council-men  applied  to  court  for 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  411 

a  change  of  charter.  A  remonstrance  on  the  part  of  the  General 
Synod-men  duly  followed.  On  application  of  the  petitioners,  a 
commissioner  to  take  evidence  was  appointed  by  the  court.  F. 
Mechlin,  Esq.,  was  the  person  chosen.  Many  witnesses  were  then 
called  on  both  sides,  among  them  C.  P.  Krauth,  Jr.,  D.  D.,  Dr. 
Passavant,  Rev.  S.  Laird  and  others  for  the  petitioners,  and  J.  A. 
Brown,  D.  D.,  Rev.  L.  M.  Kuhns  and  others  for  the  respondents. 
Those  for  the  petitioners  sought  to  show  in  brief  that  the  General 
Synod  had  departed  from  the  Lutheran  faith,  whilst  those  for  the 
respondents  did  show  that  the  General  Synod  is  a  Lutheran  body, 
and  that  the  Hebron  congregation  had  remained  true  to  it  and  to 
the  principles  on  which  it  itself  was  founded.  The  testimony  was 
taken  at  ditFerent  times  and  at  different  places,  and  months  passed 
by  ere  it  closed.  After  this  the  case  hung  in  court  a  long  time, 
his  honor.  Judge  Buifington,  being  too  unwell,  was  unable  to  hold 
an  argument  court.  But  finally  Judge  B.  resigned,  and  Judge 
Logan  was  appointed  in  his  place.  Before  the  latter,  with  Judges 
Beatty  and  Nalton  as  associates,  the  case  was  argued  on  the  27t.h, 
28th  and  29Lh  of  July.  E.  S.  Golden  appeared  for  the  petitioners. 
He  spoke  some  six  hours  altogether,  a  good  part  of  which  he  de- 
voted to  Dr.  Brown.  He  laid  out  his  strength  in  trying  to  show 
that  the  three  brethren  above  mentioned  had  no  right  to  vote. 
There  his  only  hope  lay.  Messrs.  Boggs,  of  Kittanning,  and  ex- 
Senator  Cowan,  of  Greensburg,  attorneys  for  the  respondents,  fol- 
lowed him.  The  former  vindicated  Dr.  Brown  completely.  Mr. 
Cowan  made  a  compact,  powerful  argument.  Mr.  Cowan  main- 
tained that  it  was  not  a  question  of  faith,  but  of  law,  that  was 
here  to  be  decided ;  that  the  petition  for  a  change  of  charter 
should  not  be  granted,  because,  first,  the  application  was  irregu- 
lar ;  second,  this  part  of  the  charter  cannot  be  changed  except 
by  unanimous  consent ;  and  third,  there  are  as  many  remonstrants 
as  petitioners,  if  not  more.  All  of  these,  together  with  other 
points,  he  elaborated  fully  and  forcibly. 

The  Kittanning  bar  manifested  much  interest  in  the  debate. 
The  unanimous  opinion  among  them  seemed  to  be,  when  the  de- 
bate closed,  that  there  would  be  no  change  of  charter.  So,  in  good 
spirits,  we  of  the  General  Synod  returned  home  and  confidently 
awaited  the  issue.  The  news  was  brought  to  us  that  the  change 
of  charter  asked  would  not  be  granted,  and  that  the  petitioners 
are  directed  to  pay  the  costs.. 


412  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LTJTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

II. — FREEPORT,  ARMSTRONG    COUNTY,  PA. 

This  case  was  similar  to  the  Leechburg  case,  only  that  the  churcli 
was  not,  by  its  charter,  expressly  bound  to  the  General  Synod,  but 
only  to  some  Lutheran  Synod.  The  General  Council-people  being 
in  possession  of  the  property,  the  General  Synod-people  brought 
suit  to  recover  the  property  from  them.  By  mutual  consent  the 
testimony  in  the  Leechburg  case,  so  far  as  it  related  to  the  history, 
doctrines  and  usages  of  the  Lutheran  church,  was  accepted.  The 
case  was  given  into  the  hands  of  a  master  in  chancery,  and,  after 
a  long  delay,  was  by  him,  in  1876,  decided  in  favor  of  the  Gen- 
eral Council-party.  From  this  decision  no  appeal  was  taken.  The 
fact  that  the  charter  failed  to  bind  the  congregation  to  the  General 
Synod  lost  us  our  Freeport  church  property. 

III.— VENANGO,  CRAWFORD  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

This  case  was  like  the  Freeport  case  in  its  essential  features. 
The  General  Council-people  held  the  church  and  parsonage,  and 
the  General  Synod-people  brought  suit  to  gain  possession  thereof, 
for  their  money  had  largely  built  them.  Eev.  Gaumer,  pastor, 
was  the  principal  witness  on  the  General  Council  side,  and  Eev. 
I.  J.  Delo  on  the  General  Synod. 

This  case,  too,  was  decided  in  favor  of  the  Council-party.  In 
the  last  two  cases  possession  was  everything. 

IV. — BEAVERTOWN,  SNYDER  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

In  this  case  the  General  Synod-party  gained  the  suit. 

V. — ALLENTOWN,  LEHIGH  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

The  General  Synod-party  held  possession  of  St.  Paul's,  Rev. 
W.  G.  Mennig,  pastor.  A  minority  of  the  congregation,  dissatis- 
fied with  the  usages  of  Rev.  Mennig,  which  were  those  of  the 
General  Synod  churches,  brought  suit  against  the  pastor  and  that 
part  of  the  congregation  faithful  to  him,  for  the  possession  of  the 
property.  Here  again  Dr.  Brown  was  the  principal  witness  for 
the  General  Synod-men,  and  Dr.  Krauth,  Jr.,  for  the  General 
Council-party. 

After  a  patient  and  full  hearing  of  this  great  case,  second  only 
to  that  of  Leechburg,  the  court  decided  it  in  favor  of  Bro. 
Mennig. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  413 

A  fall  account  of  the  proceedings  and  testimony  in  this  case 
may  be  seen  in  the  Quarterly  Evangelical  Review  for  January, 
1878. 

NORTH    CAROLINA. 

A  case  of  some  interest  was  tried  as  far  back  as  1821  in 
North  Carolina,  between  the  Synod  and  a  body  of  Lutheran 
ministers  composing  the  Tennessee  Synod,  known  as  "  Henkelites," 
though  that  designation  was  given  them  by  their  enemies. 

It  was  charged  that  the  latter  party  took  forcible  possession  of 
what  was  known  as  "  The  Organ  church  "  in  Rowan  county.  The 
suit  resulted  in  the  ejectment  of  this  party  by  order  of  the  court. 

The  Tennessee  Synod  claimed  that  the  North  Carolina  Synod 
had  departed  from  the  Confessions  of  the  Lutheran  church,  and 
hence  that  it  had  no  right  to  hold  property  which  had  been 
acquired  by  Lutherans.  The  court  decided  differently.  The 
facts  concerning  this  trial  can  be  learned  from  the  records  of 
Rowan  coilnty  court,  Salisbury. 

FRANCKEAN    SYNOD. 

The  next  case  which  I  have  to  record,  is  that  between  the 
Fi'anckean  Synod,  or  some  members  of  it,  and  the  Hartwick 
Synod  of  N.  Y.,  in  1844.  It  was  Philip  Kniskern  and  others 
vs.  Philip  Wieting,  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  churches  of  St. 
John's,  at  Durlach,  and  St.  Peter's,  at  New  Rhinebeck,  in  Sharon, 
and  others. 

These  churches,  together  with  that  in  Cobleskill,  were  in  exis- 
tence as  one  church  in  1787.  In  1789  they  were  designated  by 
the  name  of  the  Lutheran  congregation  of  Cobleskill  a7id  New 
Durlach.  In  the  same  year,  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  land 
were  conveyed  to  them  in  fee  forever.  In  1798  a  church  edifice 
was  built  at  New  Rhinebeck,  and  one  at  Durlach  the  next  year. 
These  churches  had  distinct  acts  of  incorporation.  The  land  was 
amicably  divided  between  the  three  churches,  Cobleskill,  Durlach 
and  Rhinebeck.  They  were  first  attached  to  the  New  York 
ministerium.  This  body  afterwards  united  with  the  General 
Synod.  In  1830,  the  Hartwick  Synod  was  formed,  and  these 
churches  became  a  part  of  that  Synod.  In  1831,  the  Hartwick 
joined  the  General  Synod.  Mr.  "Wieting,  as  pastor  of  these  churches, 
participated  in  the  organization  of  the  Hartwick  Synod  and  its 


414  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

union  with  the  General  Synod,  and  continued  in  connection  with 
them  until  1837. 

In  1837,  Mr.  Wieting,  with  a  number  of  other  members,  separated 
from  the  Hartwick  Synod  and  the  General  Synod  and  formed  the 
Franckean  Evangelical  Lutheran  Synod,  and  adopted  a  declaration 
of  faith  and  a  system  of  church  government  and  ordinances,  in 
some  respects  deviating  from  the  Augsburg  Confession.  The  two 
churclies,  St.  John's  and  St.  Peter's,  continued  their  connection 
with  the  Franckean  ;  the  complainants,  who  are  members  of  these 
churches,  adhere  to  the  Hartwick  Synod.  They  bring  suit  to 
recover  the  property  out  of  the  possession  of  the  Franckean. 

The  trial  was  held  in  Albany,  January  13,  15,  16,  1844,  and 
the  judgment  was  rendered  by  Justice  Sanford  at  New  York, 
July  17th  of  the  same  year. 

The  opinion  of  the  learned  chancellor  makes  a  large  8vo. 
pamphlet  of  sixty-nine  pages,  in  which  the  whole  subject  of  the 
law  relating  to  church  property,  with  numerous  decisions  of  other 
courts  and  many  references,  is  lucidly  set  forth. 

The  Franckeans  admitted  that  they  denied  some  of  the  teach- 
ings of  the  Augsburg  Confession,  but  still  claimed  the  property 
which  was  granted  to  and  possessed  by  churches  professing  the 
faith  of  that  Confession.  They  were  founded  and  established  as 
Evangelical  Lutheran  churches,  and  the  property  in  controversy 
was  bestowed  for  the  support  of  the  doctrines  and  tenets  of  the 
Evangelical  Lutheran  church. 

The  question  then  was,  "  What  were  the  essential  or  cardinal 
doctrines  and  tenets  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  church  when 
this  property  was  bestowed  upon  these  trusts,  and  by  what 
standard  or  symbol  were  they  declared  ?"  The  inquiry  is  limited 
to  the  belief  and  doctrines  of  those  who,  in  1789,  and  subse- 
quently, were  the  donors  of  this  property.  The  unbelief  of  the 
congregation,  thirty  or  forty  years  afterwards,  can  be  of  little  or 
no  weight  in  the  scale. 

It  was  proved  that  the  creed  of  these  churches  in  1789  was  the 
Augsburg  Confession,  or  that  the  doctrines  of  that  famous  declar- 
ation were  taught  to  them,  and  that  by  name  they  were  Lutheran 
churches,  and  believed  in  the  faith,  practice  and  doctrines  of  that 
church  as  expressed  and  declared  in  the  Symbolical  Books. 

One  of  the  conclusions  to  which  Justice  Sanford  comes  is  the 
following,  and  that  would  be  enough  to  settle  the  question : 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTEY.  415 

"  It  is  therefore  established  that  the  Augsburg  Confession  was 
accepted  and  received  by  the  churches  in  question  at  the  time  of 
their  endowment,  and  by  the  members  thereof  as  their  confession 
of  faith  ;  and  the  churches  were  founded  for  the  purpose  of  hav- 
ing the  faith  and  doctrine  expressed  in  that  Confession  taught 
and  inculcated  therein,  and  that,  in  resj^ect  of  the  doctrines  in 
this  suit,  there  never  had  been  any  established  or  even  known  dis- 
sent from  the  Augsburg  Confession  in  this  or  any  of  the  Lutheran 
churches." 

It  was  shown  on  the  other  hand  that  the  Franckeans  no  longer 
recognized  the  Augsburg  Confession  as  their  symbol  or  doctrinal 
standard.  Their  constitution  makes  no  allusion  to  it.  Mr.  Wie- 
ting,  a  leader  among  them,  gave  from  the  pulpit  of  one  of  these 
churches  his  reasons  for  separating  from  the.  Hartwick  Synod,  and 
stated  that  he  did  not  believe  the  Augsburg  Confession  ;  that  it 
was  an  antiquated  thing,  unfit  for  the  present  age.  In  view  of 
this  and  several  other  similar  utterances.  Chancellor  Sanford  says  : 
"  I  cannot  doubt,  therefore,  but  that  the  defendants  have  abandoned 
the  Augsburg  Confession  of  Faith  in  these  churches,  and  that  in 
some  essential  articles  they  have  repudiated  it."  The  judge  also 
mentions  "  the  palpable  Unitarianism  of  the  Franckean  declara- 
tion of  faith  adopted  in  1837,"  and  of  their  amended  and  improved 
declaration  of  1838.  Judge  Sanford  says  "that  the  Franckean 
article  is  capable  of  a  Trinitarian  construction,  but  merely  equiv- 
ocal, accommodating  itself  to  the  consciences  of  both  Trinitarians 
and  Unitarians."  He  then  proceeds  to  point  out  numerous 
other  deviations  of  the  Franckean  Declaration  from  the  Augsburg 
Confession. 

Without  taking  up  more  space  with  this  most  interesting  case, 
I  will  only  state  that  the  chancellor's  decision  was  in  favor  of 
the  complainants. 

CHURCH    SUIT    AT    MARVIN's    MILLS 

Some  years  ago  a  difficulty  grew  up  in  the  St.  Paul's  congrega- 
tion at  Marvin's  Mills,  Crawford  county.  Pa.,  through  the  dismis- 
sal of  its  pastor,  by  a  majority  of  the  members,  at  a  regular 
meeting. 

The  congregation  had  been  in  practical  connection  with  the 
Joint  Synod  of  Ohio  and  under  its  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction.  After 
the  dismissal  of  the  pastor,  the  majority  called  different  members 


416  FIFTY    YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

of  the  Pittsburg  Synod  to  serve  them.  The  majority  separated 
themselves  from  the  body  of  the  church  of  which  they  were  mem- 
bers, formed  an  organization,  elected  officers,  were  served  by  pas- 
tors of  the  Joint  Synod  of  Ohio,  and  recently  brought  suit  for 
the  church  property  on  the  ground  mainly  that  the  Pittsburgh 
Synod  was  not  a  Lutheran  body. 

In  his  report,  filed  January  13,  1873,  and  which  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas  of  Crawford  county  approved,  the  master,  J.  New- 
ton M'Closkey,  Esq.,  says: 

"  There  does  not  appear  to  be  an  appreciable  distinction  between 
the  religious  tenets  and  doctrinal  basis  ado_pted  and  taught  by 
both  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Joint  Synod  of  Ohio  and  the 
Evangelical  Lutheran  Synod  of  Pittsburgh.  In  fact,  their  faith 
and  worship  are  identical.         *****;•: 

"  We  can  therefore,  from  all  the  evidence  cited  in  this  case,  dis- 
cover no  radical  change  of  faith  and  doctrine  by  the  respondents, 
who  compose  a  majority  of  the  original  congregation,  '  or  succes- 
sion of  associate  owners,'  and  have  not  by  their  acts,  professions, 
practices,  charter  of  incorporation,  ceased  to  be  a  Lutheran  con- 
gregation, and  become  alienated  and  estranged  from  the  ancient 
faith,  discipline,  usages  and  customs  of  the  founders  of  the  Evan- 
gelical Lutheran  St.  Paul's  church ;  and  moreover,  that  the  re- 
spondents, by  uniting  or  connecting  in  any  way,  for  the  spiritual 
and  temporal  welfare  of  the  congregation,  with  the  Evangelical 
Lutheran  Pittsburgh  Synod,  a  genuine  Lutheran  Synod  of  the 
same  church  denomination,  have  not  thereby  forfeited  their  right 
to  the  possession  and  control  of  the  church  property."    *     *     * 

The  conclusion  to  which  we  have  arrived,  from  an  application 
of  the  principles  enunciated  in  the  foregoing  authorities  to  the 
evidence  in  this  case,  is  that  there  has  not  been  such  a  departure 
by  the  respondents  from  the  faith,  discipline  and  worship  of  the 
genuine  Lutheran  church  as  to  work  a  forfeiture  to  the  title  and 
possession  of  the  church  property  granted  to  the  Evangelical  Lu- 
theran St.  Paul's  church,  in  "  trust  for  said  church,"  but  that,  so 
far  as  the  right  of  the  property  is  concerned,  they  are  the  legiti- 
mate, continuous  church  organization,  whose  ^^ossession  of  the 
property  ought  not  to  be  disturbed,  and  that,  therefore,  the  com- 
plainants' bill  be  dismissed. 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN   THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  417 


I^OEDELSHEIMEH'S  AND  STREIT'S  LEGACIES. 


Althougli  this  subject  is  not  embraced  properly  within  my 
"Fifty  years,"  yet  it  is  one  that  has  been  hitherto  almost  entirely 
unknown ;  the  history  of  these  legacies  has  never  before  been 
traced,  and  it  was  only  after  numerous  inquiries  and  considerable 
research  that  I  have  been  able  to  procure  any  reliable  informa- 
tion. 

Every  year  the  Presidents  of  Pennsylvania  and- West  Pennsyl- 
vania Synods  report  the  receipts  of  certain  interests  derived  from 
these  two  legacies  invested  in  Europe,  amounting  to  about  $500. 

This  sum  is  divided  between  those  two  Synods,  who  appropriate 
it  as  they  please,  and  yet  nobody  knew  who  these  legatees  were 
and  no  pains  were  ever  taken  to  ascertain  their  history. 

The  amounts  are  now  voted  by  these  Synods  to  benevolent  and 
literary  purposes,  but  in  the  early  history  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Synod,  or  as  far  back  as  1820,  running  through  a  series  of  years, 
they  were  distributed  among  the  members,  on  some  occasions  each 
man  receiving  as  small  a  sum  as  $5.  I  remember  hearing  old 
Dr.  SchaefFer,  of  Philadelphia,  saying  that  he  proposed  to  invest  the 
amount  of  interest  for  some  religious  purposes,  but  his  enlightened 
proposition  met  with  no  encouragement,  and  he  was  told  by  some 
of  the  "  leaders  "  "  that  every  man  could  do  with  his  share  as  he 
liked." 

I  am  now  able  to  throw  some  light  upon  this  matter.  In  section 
ten  of  the  Preface  to  the  twelfth  continuation  of  "  The  reports 
from  some  Evangelical  churches  in  America,  particularly  in 
Pennsylvania,  edited  by  Dr.  Johann  George  Knapp,  professor,  &c., 
and  director  of  the  Orphan  House  at  Halle,  1771,"  I  find  the 
following  statement : 

"  First  of  all  I  cannot  refrain  herewith  from  publicly  expressing 
the  most  profound  gratitude  to  the  noble  reigning  Count  in 
Germany,  who  has  been  induced  by  reading  the  hitherto  published 
narratives  of  these  churches  and  their  pastors,  to  bestow  a  legacy 
of  thirteen  thousand  ducats,  and  ordered  this  to  be  paid  whilst  he 


418  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

is  still  living.  He  has  been  graciously  pleased  to  forbid  tbe 
mention  of  his  distinguished  name  in  these  reports,  but  he  will 
surely  not  take  it  amiss  that  we  here  praise  the  goodness  of  the 
Lord  who  has  stimulated  his  heant  and  made  him  willing  to 
perform  this  kind  deed,  and  that  we  at  the  same  time  stir  up  the 
churches  in  Pennsylvania  and  their  j)astors  to  gratitude  towards 
God  and  their  unknown  benefactor,  and  to  intercession  for  his 
temporal  and  eternal  welfare.  The  following  statement  of  the 
noble  donor  sets  forth  the  object  and  aim  of  this  munificent 
grant : 

"  Our  purpose  in  forwarding  some  time  ago  thirteen  thousand 
gulden  through  Mr.  N.  N.  to  Prof.  Knapp,  D.  D.,  at  Halle,  was 
that  this  sum  should  be  apj^ropriated  for  the  benefit  of  the  United 
German  Evangelical  Lutheran  congregation  in  Pennsylvania  and 
their  churches  and  schools,  in  such  manner  that  three  thousand 
ducats  should  be  paid  towards  the  liquidation  of  the  debt  on 
certain  church  buildings  for  which  Pastor  Muhlenberg  has  made 
himself  responsible,  and  that  the  remaining  ten  thousand  ducats 
be  securely  invested  and  the  interest  of  the  same  be  applied  to 
the  support  of  several  pastors  and  school-masters,  such  as  are 
regularly  called  by  the  Directors  of  the  Orphan  House  at  Halle, 
or  at  least  such  as  have  been  recognized  by  them  as  regularly 
called  faithful  pastors  and  teachers,  and  who  are  most  in  need  and 
most  deserving  of  this  aid." 

"  In  order,  however,  that  this  object  and  aim  of  the  last  mentioned 
ten  thousand  ducats  may  be  the  more  certainly  attained,  we 
request  the  Directors  of  the  Orphan  House  at  Glaucha-Halle,  viz., 
Pvev.  Prof.  I.  D.  Knapp,  D.  D.,  and  after  his  death  his  successor  in 
office,  as  Directors  of  the  said  Orphan  House,  forever,  to  act  as 
administrators  and  trustees,  in  such  manner  that  they  shall  have 
power  alone  to  dispose  of  this  endowment  and  its  revenues  as 
alone  indicated,  and  especially  to  designate  those  pastors  and 
teachers  whom  they  shall  recognize  as  deserving  of  aid  from  these 
revenues,  and  also  that  they  shall  be  at  liberty  to  execute  this 
their  trusteeship  through  a  duly  empowered  agent.  AVe  are  all 
the  more  inclined  to  confide  in  the  said  Director  and  his  successors, 
that  they  will  conscientiously  and  to  the  best  of  their  knowledge 
care  for  the  well-being  of  the  churches  and  schools  among  the 
German  Evangelical  Lutheran  congregations  in  Pennsylvania, 
inasmuch  as  these  are  mainly  indebted  to  the  Orphan  House  at 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  419 

Glauclia   and   its    Directors    for   their    original    foundation    and 
establishment." 

"  In  case  it  may  be  considered  needful  and  usefid  that  a  conscien- 
tious co-trustee  and  co-administrator  in  England  should  be 
appointed,  we  hereby  authorize  whoever  may  be  the  Director  of 
the  Orphan  House  for  the  time  being,  to  appoint  the  person  in 
whom  he  may  have  the  highest  confidence  as  such  a  co-trustee  and 
co-administrator  in  England,  and  in  connection  with  him  unitedly 
superintend  the  application  of  this  endowment,  x'lnd  as  the 
present  Director  of  the  Orphan  House,  Dr.  Knapp,  has  requested 
the  Royal  British  Chief  Court  Preacher  in  the  German  Court 
Chapel  at  London,  the  Rev.  F.  M.  Ziegenhagen,  who  has  faithfully 
and  paternally  interested  himself  in  these  united  congregations 
and  been  their  greatest  benefactor  hitherto,  to  continue  his  affec- 
tionate care  for  them,  and  especially  to  aid  in  the  management  of 
this  our  endowment,  we  approve  of  his  nomination  as  co-trustee 
and  co-administrator,  and  authorize  the  Director  of  the  Orphan 
House  hereafter,  for  the  time  being,  after  the  death  of  said  co- 
trustee, to  select  and  appoint  another  in  England. 

"  Done  under  my  hand  and  seal.  N.  N.,  Count  of  iY," 

This  Count  was  Roedelsheim. 

My  obliging  friend,  Rev.  Mr.  Sheeleigh,  writes  to  me : 
I  have  just  happened  to  meet  the  following  in  a  book  called, 
"  History  of  Montgomery  County,  &c."       In  noting  the  Barren 
Hill  church,  the  writer,  Mr.  Wm.  I.  Buck,  says : 

"This  church  owes  its  origin  to  a  division  in  the  Germantown 
congregation,  and  was  built  in  1761.  The  Rev.  Henry  M.  Muh- 
lenberg laid  the  corner  stone,,  and  gave  towards  it,  out  of  a  certain 
legacy,  twenty-four  pounds,  and  preached  in  it  before  it  was  roofed, 
in  which  state  it  had  cost  five  hundred  pounds,  and  on  its  comple- 
tion cost  upwards  of  five  hundred  pounds  more.  It  appears  that 
the  congregation  had  subscribed  but  very  little  towards  its  build- 
ing, for  they  were  in  debt  upwards  of  one  thousand  pounds 
(i?2, 666.66)  when  the  church  was  finished.  Hearing  of  the  p'ecu- 
niary  embarrassment  of  this  church,  the  chaplain  of  the  king  of 
England  authorized  Mr.  Muhlenberg  to  draw  on  him  for  one  hun- 
dred pounds  sterling.  Aftor  the  most  clamorous  of  the  creditors 
were  paid  off,  the  church,  school-house  and  lot  were,  bv  indenture, 
conveyed  to  the  German  Lutheran  congregation  of  Philadelphia. 
But  what  principally  enabled  the  sureties  to  meet  their  engage- 


420  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

ments  was  a  legacy  of  thirteen  thousand  gulden  ($5,200)  from  the 
Count  of  Roedelsheim,  in  Germany,  which  he  bequeathed  to  the 
German  Lutheran  congregations  of  Pennsylvania,  three  thousand 
($1200)  of  which  was  expressly  given  towards  the  payment  of  the 
indebtedness  of  this  church.  Having  become  much  in  want  of 
repair,  the  congregation  objected  to  making  it  unless  the  church 
was  again  restored  to  them  by  the  Philadelphia  congregation, 
which  was  accordingly  done  by  an  act  of  assembly  passed  Febru- 
ary 25th,  1801." 

From  the  proceedings  of  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania,  held  at 
Womelsdorf,  1832,  I  translate  the  following : 

"  The  President  appointed  a  committee,  consisting  of  I.  Miller, 
Demme,  Krauth,  Baetis  and  Probst,  to  investigate  the  affairs  of 
the  European  legacies  more  carefully,  and  to  present  the  most 
complete  report  possible. 

"  The  committee  reported  that  both  legacies  are  designed  for  dif- 
ferent objects,  and  should  be  regarded  in  that  light  by  the  Presi- 
dent for  the  time,  and  a  distinct  account  of  each  should  be  kept. 

"  According  to  Dr.  Niemeyer's  instructions,  it  must  be  left  to  the 
discretion  of  the  President  to  appropriate  the  funds  of  the  Boe- 
delsheim  legacy,  but  still  it  is  the  opinion  of  the  committee  that 
the  Synod  may  recommend  to  the  President  worthy  indigent  min- 
isters and  school-masters. 

"  Agreeably  to  the  will  of  the  testator,  Streit's  legacy  was  to  be 
devoted  to  the  support  of  the  poor  of  churches  and  of  schools  of 
the  United  Evangelical  Lutheran  congregations  in  America.  Last 
year  applications  of  a  three-fold  character  were  made  to  the  Pres- 
ident : 

"1.  For  the  support  of  siudents  of  theology. 

"  2.  From  schools,  through  German  papers. 

"  3.  From  congregations  who  were  erecting  new  churches. 

"  The  committee  are  of  opinion  that  applications  of  this  charac- 
ter are  in  perfect  accordance  with  the  design  of  the  deceased  tes- 
tator. 

"  Dr.  Niemeyer's  instructions  must  determine  the  manner  in 
which  the  object  of  this  legacy  is  to  be  carried  out.  It  is  plain 
to  the  committee  that  Dr.  Niemeyer  regards  the  President  as  the 
instrument  by  which  the  Synod  acts,  and  hence  their  opinion  is 
that  all  applications  for  supjDort  from  this  legacy  should  be  exam- 
ined and  determined.     Further,  it  appears  from  Streit's  testament 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY,  421 

that  the  accrued  interest  should  be  appropriated  to  these  purposes, 
and  should  never  be  loaned  as  new  capital  on  interest.  The  com- 
mittee is  of  opinion  that  the  moneys  which  have  been  thus  inves- 
ted should  be  called  in  by  the  President. 

"  On  reading  Streit's  will,  the  committee  discovered  that  he 
designed  his  legacy  for  the  United  Evangelical  Lutheran  Churches 
in  that  section  of  North  America  subject  to  the  dominion  of  Great 
Britain  (Ebenezer  and  its  dependencies  excluded),  and  that  his 
will  is  dated  Halle,  October  15,  1753. 

"  It  is  true  that  Dr.  Niemeyer,  in  a  letter  dated  November  14, 
1825,  declares  that  he  regarded  the  funds  of  this  legacy  invested 
in  Europe  as  belonging  to  the  Pennsylvania  churches,  and  Dr. 
Knapp,  in  a  letter  of  May  15,  1825,  that  the  deceased  Streit  bad 
designed  this  legacy  exclusively  for  the  support  of  Pennsylvania 
churches. 

"  The  committee  has  high  respect  for  the  opinions  of  men  who 
always  speak  according  to  their  convictions,  and  yet,  as  claims 
have  been  made  upon  this  legacy  by  other  Synods,  and  we  believe 
that  our  Synod  does  not  wish  to  be  the  curator  of  funds  which  do 
not  belong  to  it,  we  have  thoroughly  investigated  this  subject,  and 
give  the  following  as  our  deliberate  opinion  :  Every  congregation 
which  can  prove  that  it  existed  as  a  congregation  on  October  15, 
1753,  and  at  that  date  belonged  to  the  United  Evangelical  Luth- 
eran Churches,  has  a  valid  claim  upon  this  legacy  ;  and,  although 
the  claims  of  that  character  may  be  few,  yet  that  the  Synod  should 
recognize  every  one  in  case  any  person  would  give  himself  the 
trouble  to  make  it. 

"  In  relation  to  the  affair  with  the  corporation  of  the  Philadel- 
phia congregation,  as  growing  out  of  these  European  legacies,  we 
believe  that  it  could  be  amicably  adjusted  if  the  President  would 
refer  the  matter  to  the  judgment  of  ex-Governor  Shultz,  of  Penn- 
sylvania." 

The  Synod  of  Pennsylvania,  in  1876,  resolved  to  expend  a  suffi- 
cient sum  of  money  to  procure  a  copy  of  certain  documents  in 
Halle  relating  to  these  legacies,  and  until  they  shall  be  received 
we  must  be  content  with  the  meagre  information  we  now  have. 

In  anticipation  of  the  receipt  of  these  documents,  I  am  able, 
through  the  kindness  of  correspondents,  to  give  the  following 
biographical  sketch  of  Streit,  which  was  copied  from  a  work 
somewhat  rare.     It  may  be  see"n  in  the  library  of  the  German 

27 


422  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

society  of  Philadelphia,  and  is  entitled,  Biilau,  Geheime  Geschichte 
und  Rathselhafte  Menschen  Sammlung  verborgener  oder  Verges- 
sener  Merkwiirdigkeiten,  Leipzig,  1856. 

Sigismund  Streit,  born  in  Berlin,  April  13,  1687,  was  the  son  of 
David  Streit,  a  smith  and  brewer,  and  of  Eva  Maria  Melzon.  His 
father  intended  him  for  a  profession,  and  hence  sent  him  to  the 
gymnasium  ;  but  not  feeling  inclined  to  study,  he  resolved  after  his 
father's  death  to  abandon  school  and  to  devote  himself  to  trade 
and  to  seek  his  fortune  in  a  foreign  country.  In  1701  he  carried 
out  this  resolution,  and  acquiring  knowledge  of  mercantile  and 
industrial  pursuits  in  various  business  establishments,  he  finally 
traveled  on  foot  all  the  way  to  Venice  amid  the  severest  priva- 
tions, where  he  arrived  towards  the  close  of  the  year  1709  in  a 
very  destitute  condition. 

From  this  period  until  1715  he  must  have  been  employed  on 
small  wages,  for  in  that  year  he  established  himself  in  business  on 
a  small  capital  and  without  credit,  but  by  industry,  perseverance 
and  thrift,  he  gradually  rose  to  commercial  prosperity  and  high 
social  position.  In  1749  he  retired  from  the  headship  of  the 
establishment,  but  still  held  an  interest  in  the  then  celebrated 
house  of  Wagner,  in  Venice,  to  the  end  of  his  life.  From  that 
time,  on  account  of  his  health,  he  lived  eight  months  of  the  year 
in  Padua,  and  from  1754  entirely  in  that  city,  where  he  died 
December  20,  1775,  and  was  buried  in  the  Protestant  cemetery  of 
Venice.     He  remained  unmarried  all  his  days. 

In  1724,  upon  the  occasion  of  a  journey  to  England,  he  tried  to 
discover  his  relatives  in  Berlin  to  ascertain  whether  assistance  to 
any  of  them  would  lead  to  favorable  results.  But  they  did  not 
come  up  to  his  expectations.  Yet  he  took  under  his  care  the 
children  of  his  brother  Benjamin,  who  had  also  left  his  native 
country,  notwithstanding  he  had,  at  an  earlier  period,  wronged 
him  out  of  one-third  of  his  small  patrimony.  He  gave  to  this 
brother's  daughter,  who  was  married  in  Hamburg,  four  thousand 
marks,  and  a  son,  who  was  serving  an  apprenticeship  in  Berlin, 
was  sent  by  him  to  Hamburg,  London,  Amsterdam  and  Paris,  for 
the  purpose  of  improving  in  the  knowledge  of  mercantile  affairs. 
He  then  took  him  to  Venice,  where  he  intended  to  make  him  his 
heir  and  successor,  if  he  had  not  been  deceived  in  him,  so  that  he 
finally  discharged  him  with  the  interest  of  a  capital  of  two  thousand 
dollars.     From  that  time  he  determined  to  devote  his  property  to 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  423 

benevolent  institutions,  and  for  years  gathered  information 
respecting  their  designs  and  mode  of  government,  corresponded 
with  Rector  Bodenburg  and  Court  Counsellor  Wackenroder  in 
Berlin,  with  Professor  Francke  in  Halle,  and  others,  and  arranged 
his  plans  to  the  minutest  particular,  and  had  everything  secured 
in  the  most  careful  manner.  In  1752  he  was  able  to  give  the 
sum  of  ten  thousand  dollars,  the  interest  of  which  was  to  be  spent 
daring  his  life  time  for  the  benefit  of  the  teachers  and  pupils  of 
the  Berlin  Gymnasium,  and  five  thousand  dollars  for  the  widows 
of  teachers.  Subsequently  he  appropriated  to  the  same  institu- 
tion a  number  of  books  and  beautiful  pictures,  and  in  1760  the 
further  sum  of  fifty  thousand  dollars,  which,  however,  was  not  to 
be  expended  for  the  benefit  of  the  objects  designated,  until  the 
sum  was  trebled,  which  occurred  in  1786. 

In  addition,  in  1753,  he  appropriated  to  the  Evangelical 
Lutheran  churches  in  North  America,  fifteen  thousand  florins, 
which  sum  was  to  be  administered  by  the  Director  of  the  Orphan 
House  in  Halle,  and  in  1754  he  gave  a  similar  amount  for  the 
Evangelical  Mission  in  East  India.  Both  these  institutions 
received,  in  1756,  an  additional  sum  of  seventeen  hundred  and 
forty  florins. 

The  above  is  all  the  information  I  could  collect  on  this  interest- 
ing subject,  and  this  is  the  first  time  that  the  principal  facts  have 
been  brought  together. 

There  is  no  doubt  of  one  thing,  and  that  is  that  some  other 
Synods,  besides  those  of  Pennsylvania  and  West  Pennsylvania, 
are  entitled  to  a  portion  of  the  proceeds  of  Streit's  legacy.  The 
"North  America"  of  1753,  mentioned  above,  was  then  composed 
of  the  thirteen  colonies  of  Great  Britain.  No  other  "  North 
America"  was  known  or  recognized,  and  that  included  some  crig- 
inal  states  or  territories  which  do  not  receive  any  benefit  from  this 
fund.  For  some  years  the  Synod  of  Maryland,  which  was  an 
original  colony,  drew  her  share,  but  it  was  so  small  in  proportion 
that,  more  than  thirty  years  ago,  it  was  resolved  to  direct  the 
President  of  West  Pennsylvania  Synod  to  appropriate  the  Mary- 
land Synod's  small  share  to  the  seminary  at  Gettysburg.  It  was 
done  for  several  years,  but  the  Presidents  of  later  days  are,  per- 
haps, not  aware  of  this  provision,  but  the  Maryland  Synod  is  more 
to  blame  for  not  insisting  upon  her  rights. 


424  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 


STATISTICS,  FUNERALS,  &g. 


The  Difficulty  of  Securing  Correct  Statistics  has  always 
been  felt  in  our  church.  Our  various  almanacs  differ  greatly,  even 
to  the  extent  of  thousands  in  the  number  of  communicants.  The 
number  of  ministers,  Synods,  institutions,  &c.,  can  be  ascertained 
with  moderate  correctness,  but  of  regular  church  members,  and 
the  amount  of  contributions  to  benevolent  and  literary  objects,  we 
have  never  had  an  exact  account.  This  can  be  accounted  for  in 
several  ways.  Every  year  not  a  small  number  of  ministers  fail  to 
report,  and  some  others  report  incorrectly.  I  know  some  men 
who,  instead  of  giving  the  number  of  distinct  individuals  who 
have  communed  during  the  year,  count  every  individual  as  often 
as  he  communes,  and  this  is  why  some  of  them  who  have  three 
hundred  members  report  twelve  hundred,  because  each  of  these 
three  hundred  has  communed  four  times  in  the  year  !  This  is  un- 
fair and  delusive,  and  yet  I  know  some  German  ministers  who  do 
it  every  Synod, 

Kurtz's  Almanac  for  1877  gives  us  fifty-eight  Synods,  two  thou- 
sand seven  hundred  and  ninety-five  ministers,  four  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  twenty-two  churches,  six  hundred  thousand  three 
hundred  and  fifty-three  communicants.  The  other  almanacs  dif- 
fer, so  that  no  estimate  of  the  number  of  members  is  reliable. 

But  other  churches  have  the  same  difficulty.  Two  Episcopal 
almanacs  differ  twenty  thousand  in  the  number  of  communicants, 
and  the  Campbellites  do  not  know  whether  they  have  three  hun- 
dred thousand  or  four  hundred  thousand  members.  I  believe  that 
the  Methodists,  Presbyterians  and  Congregationalists  are  more  ac- 
curate, though  even  the  latter,  at  least,  must  include  some  errors 
in  their  totals,  if  we  can  judge  from  such  a  report  from  the  Yale 
College  church,  which  ofiers  the  following  curious  statistics  :  "  Male 
members,  491 ;  female  members,  39  ;  total,  530 ;  absent,  428. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  425 

Furnishing  ^YINE  and  Cake  at  funerals  was  the  universal 
custom  in  the  towns,  at  least,  of  some  sections  of  Pennsylvania, 
many  years  ago.  After  the  burial  all  those  present  were  invited 
to  the  house  of  the  family  to  partake  of  these  refreshments,  just 
as  it  is  yet  the  custom  in  the  country  to  invite  all  present  to  re- 
turn and  take  a  meal.  The  wine,  or  that  which  had  that  name, 
was  freely  dispensed,  and  the  consequences  were  not  always  hap- 
py. Eev.  Dr.  Mayer,  the  German  Reformed  minister,  was  the  first 
man  who  attacked  the  custom  in  York,  and  it  was  gradually 
abolished. 


We  have  never  tried  to  gather  the  colored  people  into  churches. 
Nearly  all  our  churches  in  the  South  have  always  had  a  few  col- 
ored members,  but  we  never  had  an  exclusively  colored  congrega- 
tion that  was  permanent.  A  colored  man  named  Jehu  Jones,  some 
years  ago,  was  rather  notorious,  and  made  an  effort  to  raise  a  con- 
gregation in  Philadelphia,  and  perhaps  elsewhere,  but  failed.  We 
have  never  been  able  to  get  a  man  of  color,  who  was  a  Lutheran 
preacher,  to  go  to  Africa  to  work  in  our  mission. 


Bishop  Payne,  now  of  the  Methodist  church,  was  reared  a  Lu- 
theran by  Dr.  Bachman,  of  Charleston,  and  studied  for  a  while  at 
Gettysburg ;  but  there  was  no  field  for  him  among  us,  and  he  was 
advised  to  go  to  the  Methodists,  among  whom  he  has  become  quite 
distinguished. 


426  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 


SEMICENTENNIAL  JUBILEE  IN  1868. 


In  1867,  and  perhaps  a  short  while  before,  numerous  articles 
appeared  in  the  Observer  and  other  church  papers,  recommending 
a  grand  celebration  of  the  semi-centennial  of  the  Reformation. 
As  usual,  great  swelling  words  were  employed  and  glorious  results 
predicted.  It  was  proposed  to  raise  large  amounts  of  money  for 
the  purpose  of  endowing  the  colleges  and  seminaries  and  societies 
already  in  existence,  and  to  found  others  in  various  sections  of 
the  church. 

Those  of  my  readers  who  desire  to  see  what  was  proposed  may 
consult  the  proceedings  of  the  General  Synod  of  1868.  Those 
who  have  preserved  copies  of  the  Observer  of  that  period  will  be 
amused,  if  not  instructed,  in  looking  at  the  numerous  recommen- 
dations and  glowing  promises  made.  Considerable  amounts  of 
money  were  raised,  but  not  much  of  it  was  appropriated  to  the 
general  purposes  originally  designed ;  but  yet  I  believe  that  the 
results  of  this  noisy  demonstration  were  productive  of  some  good, 
intellectually  at  least,  as  will  be  seen  from  what  follows. 

I  presume  we  shall  never  know  the  precise  or  even  proximate 
amount  of  money  raised  for  the  benefit  of  the  church  during  the 
Jubilee  year.  Much  of  it  has  never  been  reported  ;  much  has  been 
expended  for  local  objects,  such  as  repairing  churches,  paying 
debts,  building  new  houses  of  worship,  buying  church  furniture 
and  some,  but  too  little,  in  donations  to  the  minister  or  in  replen- 
ishing the  Sunday-School  library.  If  all  that  has  been  given  to 
general  and  local  objects  could  be  summed  up,  it  would  be  a  much 
larger  amount  than  any  of  us  imagine. 

But  whilst  we  shall  never  find  out  how  much  money  has  been 
contributed  as  the  special  result  of  the  grand  occasion,  yet  there 
is  one  department  of  the  Jubilee  eflbrt  on  which  I  am  happily  able 
to  give  very  specific  information.  It  is  not  the  department  of 
dollars  but  of  brains,  and  this  I  am  sure  will  be  of  some  interest 
to  those  of  my  readers  who  have  brains.     The  Literature  of  the 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  427 

Jubilee  year  is  no  unimportant  item  in  its  history,  and  this,  witli 
the  help  of  another,  who  has  picked  up,  like  myself,  loose  waifs 
floating  on  the  church  sea,  I  can  furnish  complete. 

This  list  of  titles  I  give  below  embraces  every  publication,  I 
believe,  relating  directly  to  the  Reformation,  that  appeared  in 
our  church  during  the  Jubilee  year.  If  any  has  been  omitted,  it 
is  because  it  has  not  been  noticed  in  our  papers  or  did  not 
otherwise  come  under  my  observation.  But,  I  presume  it  is 
complete,  for  that  which  might  escape  my  vision,  though  aided  by 
artificial  means,  would  be  sure  to  be  caught  up  by  the  keen  and 
searching  natural  eyesight  of  my  friend,  the  poet  laureate  of  the 
church. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  several  other  publications  which  have  been 
announced,  such  as  the  new  translation  of  Arndt's  True  Christi- 
anity and  several  of  Dr.  Seiss's  books,  and  probably  others  have 
been  occasioned  by  the  Jubilee,  but  as  they  do  not  directly  refer  to 
the  Reformation,  they  are  here  omitted. 

Now,  when  we  reflect  that  these  publications  have  been  read  by 
thousands,  and  that  hundreds  of  our  ministers  have  preached 
special  sermons  on  this  subject,  which  have  been  heard  by 
thousands  more,  we  may  form  some  conception  of  the  amount  of 
information  spread  abroad.  Even  presuming  that  many  were 
familiar  with  the  facts  in  general,  yet  the  occasion,  the  united 
purpose,  the  re-animated  zeal,  the  growing  church-love,  the 
revival  of  the  true  doctrine,  the  consciousness  of  eminent  church 
position  and  destiny,  the  higher  appreciation  of  Luther's  work 
and  of  his  teaching,  all  combined  to  impart  fresh  interest  to  the 
glorious  theme,  and  tens  of  thousands  now  feel  a  stronger  attach- 
ment to  the  church,  and  are  virtuously  prouder  of  their  church 
pedigree  than  ever  before.  We  see  evidences  of  it  in  our  church 
papers;  we  discover  it  in  our  Synods;  we  hear  it  in  the  social 
circle.  The  interest  is  growing,  and  let  any  minister  announce 
that  next  Sunday  night  he  will  preach  on  the  Lutheran  Reforma- 
tion, and  he  will  have  a  full  house. 

It  is  very  likely  that  hundreds  of  the  unprinted  sermons  were 
better  than  anything  here  noticed,  but  we  can  take  cognizance  of 
that  only  which  has  been  given  to  the  public  in  this  form. 


428  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

List  of  the  Jubilee  Publications  in  the  Lutheran  Church  of  the 
United  States  frotn  October  31,  1867,  to  same  date,  1868. 

1.  Brobst,  S.  K.     Haupt  Gottesdienst  Ordnung  am  350  jahrigen 

Jubilaeum  der  Reformation.  (Sheet).  Alleutown,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

2.  Fick,  0.  H.     Lieder  zum  viertel  halb  hundert-jiihrigen  Reform- 

ations Jubilaeum  am  31  October  1867" 

Goites  Wort  unci  Luther's  Lehr, 
Vergehon  nun  uad  ninimermehr. 

3.  "Sects  Reformations  Lieder — St.  Louis.     St.  Louis,  Mo.,  1867. 

Pp.  16. 

4.  Fry,  J.     Catechism  for  the  Jubilee.     Reading,  Pa.     Pp.  8. 

5.  Fry,  J.     The   privileges  and  obligations   connected  with    the 

great  Reformation,  a  Jubilee  sermon  preached  in  Trinity 
Church,  Reading,  Dec.  29,  1867.     Pp.  20. 

6.  Gotwald,  W.  H.     Jubilee  Catechism.     Lancaster,  Pa.     Pp.  8. 

7.  Greenwald,  E.     The  Lutheran  Reformation  in  a  series  of  dis- 

courses. Rev.  E.  Greenwald,  D.  D.,  Lancaster.  Philadel- 
phia.    12mo.     Pp.  392. 

8.  Hinterleitner.     Ein  Baustein  zu  Luther's  Denkmal,  errichtet  im 

Herzen  unseres  Lutherischen  Christenvolks,  bei  der  Vllten 
Jubelfeier  der  Reformation,  1867.  (A  poem).  Allentown. 
Pp.  8. 

9.  Kranth,  C.  P,  Jr.      Ein   feste   Burg  (with   music).     Luther's 

Battle  Hymn,  translated.  (Sheet,  on  the  back,  Reform- 
ation events  and  dates).     Philadelphia. 

10.  Krautb,  C.  P,  Jr.     The  Jubilee  Service :  An  order  of  divine 

worship  for  the  Seventh  Jubilee  of  the  Reformation.  12mo. 
Pp.  24. 

11.  Morris,     Jubilee  Tract.     Pp.  4. 

12.  Miiller,  J.  A.  H.     Jubelfest  Biichlein  :  das  ist,  Fragen  und 

Antworten  iiber  die  Geschichte  d.  Evang.  Luth.  Kirche, 
Pittsburg.     St.  Louis.     Pp.  32. 

13.  Rath,  J.  B.     Catechism  for  the  Seventh  Jubilee  of  the  Reform- 

ation.    Bethlehem,  Pa.     1867. 

14.  Riis,  H.  N.     Kurzer  Unterricht  ueber  Luther  u.  d.  Reformation 

in  Fragen  u.  Antworten.     Allentown.     Pp.  7. 

15.  Seiss,  J.  A.     The  Jubilee.     Phila.     Pp.  4. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  429 

16.  Sei.«s,  J.  A.     Ecclesia  Lutheranna:  a  brief  survey  of  the  Ev. 

Luth.  Church.     Phihadelphia.     1868.     12mo.     Pp.  276. 

17.  Seiss,  J,  A.     The    Lutheran    Church.  (Reprint  with  amend- 

ments).    Baltimore.     Pp.  19. 

18.  Sheeleigh,  M.     Hymns  for  the  Seventh  Semi-centennialJubilee 

of  the  Reformation.     Philda.     1867.     16mo,     Pp.  18. 

19.  Jubilee  Hymn,  with  music.  (Sheet). 

20.  Stork,  T,  Sr.     Two  Hymns  for  the  Jubilee  of  the  Reformation. 

Philadelphia. 

21.  Stork,  C,    Jr.     The    Reformation    God's   Work.     A    sermon. 

Nov.  5,  1867.  Baltimore.  Pp.  16. 

22.  [Stuckenberg.]  Ninety   Five  Theses   for  the    Seventh   Semi- 

centennial Jubilee  of  the  Reformation.  Bait.  1868.  Pp.  68. 

23.  Strobel,  W.  D.     Jubilee  Tract,  No.  2.     The  Lutheran  Church, 

why  should  I  love  it  ?     Baltimore.     Pp.  4. 

24.  Vogelbach,  S.     Zur  Errinerung  an  die  350  Jahrigen  Jubelfeier 

der  Reformation.     Phila.     Pp.  8. 

25.  Weiser,  R.     Lutheran  Jubilee.     A  Synodical  sermon.     Pp.  20. 

The  following  are  anonymous  : 

26.  The   350th    anniversary    of  the    Reformation,    at   Plymouth 

church,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  of  St.  Matthews  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church. 
Programme.     Pp.  4.     Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

27.  350th  anniversary  of  the  Reformed  Lutheran  Mission.     Wheel- 

ing, Pa.     Pp.  4. 

28.  Pittsburg  Jubilee  Service.     1867. 

29.  Die    Feier    des   350    Reform.     Jubilaeum   in    Addison,  111. 

St.  Louis.     Pp.  15. 

30.  Luther's  Photograph.     Lutheran  Publication  Society.     Phila- 

delphia. 

31.  Harrisburg   Lutheran  Jubilee,  Nos.  1,  2.     Publisher   of  Lu- 

theran Sunday-school. 

32.  Seventh  Semi-centennial  Jubilee  of  the  Reformation  in  St. 

James'  Lutheran  church,  N.  Y.     Programme.     Pp.  4. 

33.  Sunday  School  Jubilee  of  1st  Evangelical  Lutheran  church, 

Harrisburg,  May  6th,  1868.     (Sheet). 

34.  Photographs   of    members   of    General    Synod.    Harrisburg, 

May,  1868. 


430  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

35.  Jubilee  Card,  published  by  General  Synod. 

36.  Jubilee  Medal.     Milwaukee. 

37.  Jubilee    Medal.     Philadelphia.     With    bust   of    Luther    and 

inscriptions. 

I  here  insert  a  few  articles  taken  from  the  Observer,  to  show 
the  spirit  of  the  tinaes  relating  to  this  subject.  The  Observer  of 
those  days  is  crowded  with  communications  of  a  similar  character. 

THE  JUBILEE — TO  THE  MINISTERS  AND  CHURCHES  OF  THE 
SYNOD  OF  EAST  PENNSYLVANIA. 

In  compliance  with  the  request  of  Synod,  I  desire  to  call  your 
attention  to  its  action  in  reference  to  the  celebration  of  the  ap- 
proaching Semi-centennial  of  the  Reformation.  As  this  action  has 
not  yet  been  published,  and  may  be  needed  as,  to  some  extent,  the 
basis  and  guide  of  operations  in  the  proposed  celebration,  it  is 
proper  that  I  should  here  bring  to  your  notice  the  principal  reso- 
lutions adopted : 

1.  JResolved,  That  this  Synod  heartily  rejoices  in  the  prospect 
of  such  a  celebration  by  the  churches  of  the  General  Synod,  and 
herewith  earnestly  exhorts  all  our  people  to  unite  in  the  same. 

2.  That  the  main  features  of  the  celebration  should  be  the  pre- 
sentation, from  the  pulpit  and  otherwise,  of  the  great  doctrines  of 
the  Reformation,  and  the  contribution  of  funds  for  the  various 
benevolent  operations  of  the  church. 

3.  That  we  will  endeavor  to  raise  for  benevolent  purposes,  du- 
ring the  year,  at  least  $100,000  within  the  bounds  of  our  Synod. 

4.  That  the  following  objects  be  specially  commended  to  the 
attention  of  our  people,  every  one  selecting  from  among  them  ac- 
cording to  his  individual  preference,  and  giving  liberally  accord- 
ing as  the  Lord  hath  prospered  him :  Foreign  Missions,  Home 
Missions,  Education,  Church  Extension,  Publication  Society,  Pas- 
tor's Fund,  Theological  Seminaries,  Colleges,  Orphans'  Home  at 
Loysville,  Perry  county,  Pa.,  Memorial  Church  at  Washington, 
D.  C,  and  General  Benevolence. 

These  resolutions,  with  this  schedule  of  benevolent  objects,  were 
followed  by  resolutions  requiring  pastors  to  send  to  the  President 
of  Synod  monthly  reports  of  contributions  made,  and  the  Presi- 
dent to  keep  a  full  account  of  such  contributions,  and  publish 
monthly  the  amount  contributed  to  each  object. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  431 

THE  JUBILEE  IN  YORK,  PA. — ITS  OBSERVANCE  INAUGURATED. 

An  interesting  and  spirited  meeting  of  members  of  the  four 
Lutheran  churches  of  York,  Pa.,  was  held  in  St.  Paul's,  Rev.  W. 
M.  Baum,  pastor,  on  Monday  evening,  October  7th.  The  exercises 
were  opened  by  the  choir,  rendering  that  noble  anthem,  "  Might]/ 
Jehovah,''  with  fine  effect.  The  sixty-second  chapter  of  Isaiah 
was  then  read  by  the  pastor,  and  prayer  offered  by  Rev.  C.  J. 
Deininger.  The  choir  and  congregation  sang  with  great  earnest- 
ness that  grand  old  hymn  845 :  "  All  Hail  the  Power  of  Jesus' 
Name." 

The  object  of  the  meeting  was  then  very  happily  stated  by  Rev. 
Dr.  Lochman,  pastor  of  the  First  Lutheran  Church.  The  necessity 
for  a  Reformation  of  the  Church,  the  manner  of  its  accomplish- 
ment, and  the  blessed  results  flowing  in  an  ever  increasing  stream 
through  all  of  Protestant  Christianity,  were  very  handsomely  pre- 
sented. Those  present  were  then  asked  whether  they  would  unite 
with  the  great  body  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  the  United  States 
and  Europe  in  celebrating  the  Seventh  Jubilee  of  this  event.  It 
was  desirable  for  our  four  congregations,  between  whose  pastors 
and  members  there  are  perfect  concord  and  harmony,  to  act  in 
concert,  and  seek,  by  united  effort,  to  make  the  occasion  memorable 
and  blessed. 

Rev.  W.  M.  Baum  followed  in  an  earnest  address,  claiming  a 
high  position  for  the  Lutheran  Church,  and  predicting  a  glorious 
future,  when  her  own  members  shall  awake  to  the  full  conscious- 
ness of  the  blessed  inheritance  bequeathed  them  in  the  history, 
the  doctrines  and  the  services  of  their  church. 

The  following  questions  were  then  put  directly  to  the  audience  : 
'^  Shall  %ve  unite  in  this  coinniem oration  of  the  Reformation  f 
"  Sliall  we  signalize  this  occasion  hy  trimming  our  churches,  having 
special  services  and  hy  asking  a  grand  Free-  Will  Thanh  Ofjering  of 
our  means  to  the  Church?" 

To  these  questions  the  response  was  hearty,  unanimous  and  em- 
phatic. The  pastors  were  not  a  whit  in  advance  of  their  people. 
Every  proposition  Avas  eagerly  received  and  cheerfully  endorsed. 

Mr.  Charles  A.  Morris,  a  layman  of  St.  Paul's,  but  as  well 
known  in  the  church  as  the  great  mass  of  our  ministers,  was  the 
next  speaker.  Seldom  have  we  heard  a  better  or  more  pertinent 
address.  Clear,  impressive  and  whole-souled,  the  fire  of  early 
years  flashed  forth  anew  in  the  utterances  of  this  tried  and  faith- 


432  FIFTY   YEAKS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

ful  veteran  of  seventy-five.  Nothing  but  tlie  sacredness  of  the 
place  and  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion  prevented  a  hearty  en- 
dorsement of  his  sentiments  by  rapturous  applause. 

Rev.  C.  J-.  Deininger,  pastor  of  several  congregations  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  York,  expressed  his  fullest  sympathy  and 
heartiest  endorsement  of  the  objects  of  the  meeting,  and  declared 
his  intention  to  inaugurate  similar  services  in  the  churches  under 
his  care. 

Rev.  J.  H.  Menges  did  not  quite  endorse  the  proposition  for 
church-decorations,  but  was  heart  and  soul  for  everything  that 
would  elevate  our  church  and  extend  her  usefulness. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  433 


LECTURESHIPS   AND   PRIZES 


In  the  year  1865  the  Rev.  Samuel  A.  Holman,  of  the  Synod  of 
East  Pennsylvania,  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Directors  of  the 
Theological  Seminary  at  Gettysburg  the  sum  of  $2000,  the  interest 
of  which  is  to  be  paid  to  a  person  appointed  by  the  Board  to  de- 
liver a  lecture  at  Gettysburg  on  some  article  of  the  Augsburg 
Confession.  There  is  one  lecture  every  year,  and  it  has  heretofore 
been  delivered  on  some  evening  during  commencement  week,  when 
usually  many  visiting  ministers  are  present.  But  of  late  years 
the  audiences  have  been  small.  The  ministers  know  they  can  read 
it  afterwards  in  the  Review,  and  the  laity  feel  no  interest  in  what 
they  falsely  call  a  dry  theological  lecture.  This  induced  the 
Board  (at  its  last  meeting,  1877)  to  change  the  time  and  place  of 
the  delivery  of  the  dissertation.  It  is  not  to  be  public,  as  here- 
tofore, but  in  the  Seminary,  before  the  professors  and  students, 
and  such  others  who  may  choose  to  attend. 

The  first  lecture  on  the  First  Article  of  the  Confession,  which 
treats  of  God,  was  delivered  by  Rev.  Dr.  James  A.  Brown,  in 
1866,  professor  in  the  Seminary.  The  second,  of  Original  Sin, 
by  S.  S.  Sprecher,  Wittenberg  College.  The  third,  of  tlie  Son 
of  God  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  by  S.  S.  Schmucker.  The 
fourth,  of  Justification,  by  M.  Valentine.  The  fifth,  of  the  min- 
istry of  the  Church,  by  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  A.  Hay,  a  professor  in 
the  Seminary.  The  sixth,  of  New  Obedience,  by  Rev.  Dr.  Chas. 
A.  Stork.  The  seventh,  of  the  Church,  by  Rev.  John  G.  Morris. 
The  eighth,  What  the  Church  is,  by  Rev.  Henry  Ziegler.  The 
ninth,  on  Baptism,  by  Rev.  F.  W.  Conrad,  D.  D.  The  teniJc,  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  by  George  Diehl,  in  1875.  The  eleventh,  of  Con- 
fession, by  Rev.  A.  C.  Wedekind,^in  1876.  The  twelfth,  of  Repen- 
tance, by  Simeon  W.  Harkey,  in  1877.  The  next  lecturer  is  Rev. 
Dr.  Baum.  All  these  lectures  have  been  published  in  the  Evan- 
gelical Quarterly. 

In  1871  Mr.  John  Rice,  of  Baltimore,  founded  a  lectureship  on 
"  Methods  in  Ministerial  Work,"  with  special  reference  to  devel- 


434  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Oping  and  directing  the  benevolence  of  the  chui'ch,  the  care  of 
the  young,  and  the  development  of  lay  work,  and  placed  $1000 
in  the  hands  of  the  Directors  of  the  Seminary,  the  yearly  interest 
of  which  is  to  be  paid  to  the  person  appointed.  Mr.  Rice  has  re- 
tained the  privilege  of  nominating  the  lecturer,  but  he  is  really 
appointed  by  the  Board.  Those  who  have  been  appointed  are 
EeV.  Drs.  J.  G.  Butler,  in  1872 ;  C.  A.  Stork,  1873 ;  L.  A.  Got- 
wald,  1874;  A.  C.  Wedekind,  1875;  G.  H.  Wenner,  1876;  Tyng, 
of  N.  Y.,  1877,  who  failed  to  appear. 

In  1876  the  Rev.  Dr.  F.  W.  Conrad  offered  a  prize  of  $30  to 
that  student  in  the  Seminary  who,  in  the  judgment  of  the  faculty, 
excelled  in  elocutionary  ability  or  reading  of  Scriptures,  Hymns 
and  Liturgy ;  but  the  students,  apprehensive  that  it  would  tend 
to  excite  unfriendly  competition  and  rivalry,  begged  leave  to  de- 
cline the  well  intended  offer. 

Mr.  C.  W.  Hassler,  then  of  the  U.  S.  Navy,  gave,  in  1866,  $250, 
the  interest  of  which  to  be  expended  annually  for  the  purchase  of 
a  gold  medal  to  that  student  of  the  Junior  class  in  college  who 
shall  have  shown  the  greatest  proficiency  in  the  Latin  language. 

John  Graeff,  of  Philadelphia,  annually  authorizes  the  Professor 
of  English  Literature  in  Pennsylvania  College  to  have  a  gold 
medal  prepared,  at  a  cost  of  $30,  for  the  best  essay  in  that  de- 
partment. 

"  A  Friend  "  (Dr.  H.  H.  M.,  of  Reading)  gave  $500  in  1856-61, 
the  interest  of  which  is  given  to  that  student  in  the  Freshman 
class  who  excels  in  general  scholarship. 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  435 


CELEBRATION  OF  REFORMATION  DAY. 


It  is  only  about  thirty  years  ago  that  it  was  first  proposed  in 
the  Maryland  Synod  to  recommend  to  the  churches  the  celebration 
of  the  thirty-first  of  October  as  Reformation  Day.  It  was  sug- 
gested that,  on  that  day  or  the  Sunday  nearest  to  it,  special  ser- 
mons be  preached  upon  the  subject,  information  be  diffused,  and 
the  interest  of  the  churches  be  awakened.  For  the  first  few  years 
it  was  not  extensively  observed,  but  at  the  present  time  hundreds 
of  ministers  in  every  section  of  the  church  preach  upon  the  glor- 
ious theme.  Even  some  superintendents  of  Sunday  schools  have 
taken  it  up,  and  are  instructing  the  pupils  in  the  grand  historical 
fact.  The  result  has  been  the  publication  of  several  good  books 
and  many  sermons  on  the  Reformation  in  general  and  Luther  in 
particular.  We  have  the  proud  gratification  of  knowing  that,  as 
one  of  the  results  of  this  measure,  Luther's  character  is  more 
clearly  developed,  his  mighty  work  more  highly  appreciated,  and 
his  influence  upon  the  destiny  of  mankind  more  distinctly  felt 
than  ever  before,  and  that  not  only  by  our  own  people,  but  by 
those  of  all  other  Protestant  churches.  Luther's  name  is  more 
frequently  mentioned  in  discourses  and  writings  than  ever  before. 
More  books  relating  to  him  have  been  written  and  published  by 
persons  outside  of  our  church  than  on  any  other  man  connected 
with  the  Reformation,  and  every  year  the  number  is  increasing. 


436  FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY. 


LUTHERAN  MINISTERS 

Who  Jiave  served  as  Professors  or  Tutors  in  CuUeges  of  other  de- 
nominations or  who  have  been  elected  to  such  positions. 


Aughey,  Samuel.     Professor  of  Science  in  Nebraska  University. 

Bachman,  John.  Professor  of  Natural  History  in  South  Carolina 
College.     The  Presidency  was  offered  to  him. 

Breidehbaugh,  Edward.  Assistant  Professor  of  Chemistry,  Yale 
College. 

Butler,  J.  G.  Professor  of  Chemistry,  History  and  Homiletics, 
Linwen  University,  Washington. 

Butler,  G.     Professor  in  Howard  University,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Cruse.  Professor  of  Greek,  University  of  Pennsylvania,  Phila- 
delphia. 

Eggers,  H.     Professor  of  Latin,  Western  University,  Pittsburg. 

Endress,  C.     Tutor  in  University  of  Pennsylvania. 

Ernst,  W.     Tutor  in  University  of  Pennsylvania. 

Haverstick,  H.  Professor  of  Languages,  High  School,  Phila- 
delphia. 

Hazelius,  E.  L.     Elected — Lafayette  College  and  Princeton. 

Heilig,  W.     Professor  in  Baltimore  City  College. 

Helmuth,  J.  C.  H.  Professor  of  German  and  Oriental  Languages, 
University  Pennsylvania. 

Hubbert,  W.  E.  Professor  of  Ancient  Languages  and  Literature, 
Blacksburg,  Virginia. 

Knauif  (Layman).     Professor  University  Pennsylvania. 

Krauth,  C.  P,  Jr.  Vice  Provost  and  Professor  of  Moral  Philos- 
ophy, University  of  Pennsylvania. 

Kunze,  J.  C.  Professor  of  Oriental  Languages,  University  Penn- 
sylvania, afterwards  same  in  Columbia  College,  New  York. 

Lehman,  W.  Professor  of  Modern  Languages,  High  School,  Pits- 
field  Massachusetts — elected  to  Franklin  College,  Georgia, 

Mayer,  P.  F.     Elected  Provost,  University  Pennsylvania. 

Morris,  J.  G.  Elected  Professor  of  Natural  History,  University 
of  Maryland. 


FIFTY  YEARS   IN   THE   LUTHERAN  MINISTRY.  437 

Muhlenberg,  F.  A.  Professor  of  Greek,  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

Parson,  W.     Professor  of  English,  Imperial  University,  Japan. 

Richard,  J.  W.  Professor  of  German,  Lafayette  College,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

Sadtler,  S.  (Layman).  Professor  of  Chemistry  and  Mineralogy, 
University  Pennsylvania,  Philadelphia. 

SchaefFer,  F.  C.  Professor  of  German,  Columbia  College,  New 
York. 

Schmidt,  H.  I.  Professor  of  German,  Columbia  College,  New 
York. 

Schmidt,  F.     Lafayette  College. 

Schwartz,  J.  C.  Assistant  Professor  of  Languages,  Charleston 
College. 

Sihler.  Fellow  and  Professor  of  Greek,  Johns  Hopkins  Univer- 
sity, Baltimore. 

Sihler.     Biology,  in  Johns  Hopkins  University. 

Uhler,  P.  R.     (Layman.)    Assistant  Professor  of  Natural  History. 

Uhlhorn,  J.     Professor  of  Greek,  University  of  Maryland. 

Wynn.     Professor,  Western  College. 


28 


438  FIFTY    YEAKS    IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 


Dootops  of  Divinity  and  LL.  D.  in  the  Lutheran  Ghupch. 


Names.  Source. 

Albert,  L.  E Pennsylvania  College. 

Auspacli,  F.  E Franklin  and  Marshal. 

Aughhey,  S.,  LL.  D 

Bachman,  J Pennsylvania  College. 

and  LL.  D University  of  Berlin. 

Babb,  A Pennsylvania  College. 

Baker,  J.  C Lafayette  College. 

Baltzly,  J.  B Wittenberg  College. 

Baugher,  H.  L Dickenson  College. 

Baum,  W.  M Pennsylvania  College. 

Bernheim,  G.  A Pennsylvania  College. 

Bikle,  L.  A Pennsylvania  College. 

Bittle,  D.  F Pennsylvania  College. 

Bowman,  J Pennsylvania  Coll ege. 

Brown,  J.  G Pennsylvania  College. 

Brown,  A.  J Pennsylvania  College. 

Butler,  J.  G Pennsylvania  College. 

Conrad,  F.  W Wittenberg  College. 

Crouse,  J Wittenberg  College. 

Davis,  J.  B Wittenberg  College. 

Demme,  C.  R University  of  Pennsylvania. 

Diehl,  G Pennsylvania  College. 

Diebl,  M Wittenberg  College. 

Domer,  S Roanoke  College. 

Dosh,  F.  W Roanoke  College. 

Eichelberger,  L Princeton  College. 

Endress,  C.  F University  of  Pennsylvania. 

Ernst,  W ....University  of  Pennsylvania. 

Felts,  P , 

Finckle,  S Irving,  Md. 

Fink,  R.  A Pennsylvania  College. 

Fry,  J.. Pennsylvania  College. 

Geissenbainer,  F.  W University  of  New  York. 

Geissenhainer,  F.  W.,  Jr University  of  Pennsylvania. 

Gotwald,  L Pennsylvania  Coll  ege. 

Greenwald,  E 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  439 

Names.  Source. 

Harkey,  S.  W Wittenberg  College, 

Harrison,  W Wittenberg  College. 

Hauer,  D Irving,  Md. 

Hay,  0.  A Pennsylvania  College, 

Hazelius,  E.  L University  of  Pennsylvania. 

Helmuth,  A University  of  Pennsylvania. 

Henkle,  S North  Carolina  College. 

Honour,  J.  H North  Carolina  College. 

Hutter,  E.  W Pennsylvania  College. 

Jacobs,  M Jefferson  and  Wittenberg, 

Jacobs,  H.  E Thiel  College. 

Keller,  E Jefferson  College. 

Krauth,  C.  P.,  Sr University  of  Pennsylvania. 

l^^rauth,  C.  P.,  Jr Pennsylvania  College. 

Krotel,  G.  F 

Kunze,  J.  C University  of  Pennsylvania. 

Kuhns,  L.  M Wittenberg  College. 

Kurtz,  D University  of  Pennsylvania. 

Kurtz,  B Washington  College. 

and  LL.  D Wittenberg  College. 

Lintner,  C.  A Pennsylvania  College. 

Lochman,  J.  G, Alleghany  College,  Mead- 

ville.  Pa.,  and  University 
of  Pennsylvania. 

Lochman,  A.  H Pennsylvania  College. 

Magee,  Irving 

Mann,  W.  J Pennsylvania  College, 

McCron,  J Roanoke  College. 

Mayer,  P.  F University    of  Pennsylvania 

and  Columbia  College, 

Miller,  J University  of  Pennsylvania, 

Miller,  G.  B  Union  College, 

Mohldehnke,  Edward,  Germany. 

Morris,  J.  G.,  LL.  T>  Pennsylvania  College. 

Muhlenberg,  H.  M .' University  of  Pennsylvania. 

Muhlenberg,  H.  E University  of  Pennsylvania. 

Muhlenberg,  F.  A  Pennsylvania  College. 

Ort,  S.  A Wittenberg  College. 

Oswald,  J Wittenberg  College. 

Passavant,  W.  A Pennsylvania  College. 

Pohlman,  H.  N Pennsylvania  College. 


440  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Names.  Source. 

Quitman,  F.  H Harvard  University. 

Eeinmund,  J.  F. Wittenberg  College. 

Eicliards,  J.  AV Jefferson  College. 

Sadtler,  B. Pennsylvania  College. 

Schaeffer,  F.  D.. University  of  Pennsylvania. 

Schaeffer,  F.  C Columbia  College. 

Scbaeffer,  D.  F St.  John's,  Md. 

Schaeffer,  C.  F Pennsylvania  College. 

Schaeffer,  C.  W Wittenberg  College. 

Schmidt,  H.  J ..Pennsylvania  College. 

Schmucker,  J.  G  University  of  Pennsylvania. 

Schmucker,  S.  S Jefferson    College  and   Kut- 

ger's  College. 

Schmucker,  B.  M  Pennsylvania  College. 

Schock,  G.  L  Pennsylvania  College. 

SchoU,  W.  N Pennsylvania  College. 

Seiss,  J.  A Pennsylvania  College. 

Senderling,  J.  Z Pennsylvania  College. 

Seyfarth,  G Pennsylvania  College. 

Smeltzer,  J.  P Pennsylvania  College. 

Spaeth,  A 

Sprecher,  G Washington  College. 

Spangenberg,  J.  A Germany. 

Steck,  D  Wittenberg  College. 

Steck,  J Wittenberg  College. 

Sternberg,  L Union  College. 

Stelling,  G.  F Wittenberg  College. 

Stohlman,  C.  F.  E  Capitol  University,  Colum- 
bus, Ohio. 

Stork,  T '. Wittenberg  College. 

Stork,  C.  A Pennsylvania  College. 

Strobel,  W.  D Hamilton  College. 

Swartz,  J Wittenberg  College. 

Thuemmel,  C.  B 

Valentine,  .M Pennsylvania  College. 

Wackerhagen,  A Union  College. 

Wedekind,  A.  C Union  College. 

Weiser,  K Pennsylvania  College. 

Wiles,  H.  L Jefferson  College. 

Wolf,  E.  J Jefferson  College. 

Ziegler,  H Wittenberg  College. 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN   THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  441 


MEMBEHB  OF  FOREIGN  LEARNED  SOCIETIES. 


The  following  are  tlie  only  ministers  of  our  church  whom  I  could 
ascertain  as  having  been  elected  members  of  foreign  societies  : 
Dr.  Henry  Ernst  Muhlenberg,  of  Lancaster  (1770-1815). 

Member  of  the  Naturforschende  Freunde,  Berlin.     Member 
of  the  Philosophical  and  Physical  Societies  of  Goettingen. 
Rev.  John  Bachman,  D.  D.,  Charleston,  S.  C. 
Rev.  John  G.  Morris. 

Member  of  the  Royal  Ante-Columbian  Society  of  Northern 

Antiquaries,  Copenhagen. 
Member  of   Die  Naturhistorische  Gesellschaft  zu  Nurnberg, 
Bavaria. 


Members  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society,  Philadelphia. 


Rev.  Dr.  H.  E.  Muhlenberg.  Rev.  Dr.  C.  P.  Krauth,  Jr. 

Rev.  Dr.  C.  R.  Demme.  Prof.  S.  B.  Sadtler. 

Dr.  C.  P.  Krauth  is  also  the  only  Lutheran  minister  who  is  a 
member  of  The  Oriental  Society,  and  of  The  American  Commit- 
tee co-operating  with  the  Revisers  of  the  Authorized  Version, 
and  of  The  American  Bible  Society's  Committee  on  Versions. 


L  U  T  H  E  K  A  N   .MINISTERS    AND    LAYMEN 

Who  have  written  on  various  Departments  of  Science. 


Oar  theological  and  purely  literary  writers  are  well  known  to 
all  the  church.  Those  departments  are  in  one  sense,  professional, 
but  there  is  besides  this,  a  field  that  has  been  to  some  extent 
cultivated  by  our  men,  and  to  show  at  a  glance  what  we  have 
contributed  to  science,  I  have  here  brought  together  all  their 
names  and  the  abbreviated  titles  of  their  principal  writings.* 
I  am  sure  it  will  be  gratifying  to  many  to  see  this  distinct  group. 

*  For  a  full  catalog-ue  of  our  Lutheran  Literature  in  America,  see  my  Biblio- 
tbeca  Lutheraoa.    Philadelphia.    1876. 


442  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

AuGHEY,  Samuel,  Ph.  D. 

The  Geology  of  Nebraska.     1873. 

Catalogue  of  the  Plants  of  Nebraska.     1874. 

The  Superficial  Deposits  of  Nebraska.     1875. 

Catalogue  of  the  Land  and  Fresh  Water  Shells  of  Nebraska. 
Bachman,  John,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 

The  Doctrine  of  the  Unity  of  the  Human  Race. 

A  Notice  of  Nott  and  Gliddon's  "Types  of  Mankind." 

An  Examination  of  Agassiz's  "  Natural  Provinces  of  the 
Animal  World." 

An  Examination  of  the  characteristics  of  Genera  and 
Species. 

Catalogue  of  the  Phaenogamous  Plants  and  Ferns  of  South 
Carolina. 

Experiments  on  the  Habits  of  Vultures. 

Monograph  of  the  Genus  Sciurus  (Squirrels). 

The  Changes  in  the  Colors  of  Feathers  in  Birds  and  of  Hair 
in  Animals. 

The  Introduction  and  Propagation  of  Fresh  Water  Fish. 

Controversy  with  Dr.  Morton  on  Hybridity. 

Dr.  Bachman  had  a  principal  hand  in  the  writing  of  Audu- 
bon's great  work  on  our  Birds  and  Quadrupeds,  and  has 
also  contributed  numerous  other  scientific  articles  to 
various  Journals. 

BiKLE,  P.  M. 

Parody,  the  Scientist  and  Christian.     Quai't.  Rev.,  No.  420. 

Our  present  knowledge  of  the  Sun.     lb.  VII.,  No.  387. 
Breidenbaugh,  Edward. 

Various  articles. 
Brown,  James  A. 

Christian  Anthropology,  Amer.  Presbyt.  Rev.     1869. 

Review  of  Tyndall's  Address,  Quart.  Rev.  V.     68. 
Davis,  J.  B. 

Various  articles  in  Reviews  and  Journals. 

DUMLING,  H. 

Illustrirtes  Thierleben.     1875.     8vo. 
DUMLING,  F.  F.  H. 

Arithmetisches  Exempel  Buch.     1876. 
FocHT,  D.  H. 

The  Geology  in  the  vicinity  of  Bloomsfield.     1860. 


fifty  years  in  the  lutheran  ministry.  44s 

Gilbert,  Dr.  D. 

Five  Introductory  and  Valedictory  Addresses  to  Graduating 
Classes  of  Medicine. 
HouPT,  Genl.  H. 

General  Theory  of  Bridge  Construction. 

Improvement  of  the  Ohio  River. 
Houpt,  L.  L. 

Conversation  on  Engineering. 
Jacobs,  Prof.  M. 

Consistency  of  Geology  and  Revelation.     Ev.  Rev.,  1363. 

Unity  of  the  Human  Race.     lb.  II,  451. 

Relation  of  the  Animal  to  the  Vegetable  World.     lb.  XI,  256. 

Meteorology.     lb.  X,  161. 

The  Indian  Summer.     Linn.  Journ. 

Kemp,  Dr.  W.  M. 

One  Thousand  Cases  of  Obstetrics. 
KUNZE,  J.  C. 

New  Method  of  Calculating  the  Eclipse  of  June  16,  1806. 
Lindemann,  J.  C.  C. 

Lehrbuch  der  Arithmetik,  Astronomische,  Unterredungen. 
Melsheimer,  F.  V. 

Catalogue  of  the  Insects  of  Pennsylvania. 
Melsheimer,  Dr.  E.  F. 

Catalogue  of  the  Coleoptera  of  the  U.  S. 

Author  of  numerous  articles  on  Entomology. 
Morris,  John  G. 

Von  Leonhard's  Lectures  on  Geology — Translated. 

Address  on  the  Study  of  Natural  History.     1841. 

Address  at  Dedication  of  Linneaen  Hall.     1847. 

Catalogue  of  the  Described  Lepidoptera  of  U.  S.     Published 
by  the  Smithsonian  Institution.     1860. 

Synopsis  of  the  Described  Lepidoptera  of  U.  S.     Smithsonian 
Institution.     1861. 

Contributions   to    the    History  of  Entomology  in  the  U.  S. 
Silliman's  Journ.     Numerous  shorter  articles. 
Muhlenberg,  Henry  E. 

Descriptio  Uberior  Graminum. 

Catalogus  Plantarum. 

Flora  Lancastriensis. 


444  fifty  years  in  the  lutheran  ministry. 

Seyfarth,  G. 

Amerikanischer  Kalender. 
Die  Wahre  Zeitrechnung  der  Alt.  Test. 
An  Astronomical  Inscription  Concerning  the  Year  22  B.  C. 
Rudimenta  Hieroglyphica. 
Systema  Astronomiae  Aegyptiacae. 

(Many  other  writings  on  Astronomy,  Chronology  and  Aegyp- 
tiology.)     See  Rev.,  VIII,  34. 

Thomas,  C. 

Zoology  of  Colorado  in  Hayden's  Expedition, 

(Several  other  scientific  treatises.) 
Waltz,  E.  L. 

Erklaerung  des  Kalenders.     1830. 


LUTHERAN  COMMENTATORS  OF  THE  SCRIPTURES 

IN  THE   UNITED  STATES. 


Schmucker,  J.  G. 

Prophetic  History  of  the  Christian  Religion  ;  or,  Explanation 
of  the   Revelation    of  St.  John.     2  Vol.     8vo.      1817. 
(German.) 
Die  Vornehmste  Weissagungen  der  Heiligen  Schrift.      Ha- 
gerstown.     1807. 
Krauth,  C.  P.,  Jr. 

Commentary  on  John.     By  Tholuck.     (Translated.) 
J.  G.  Morris  and  C.  A.  Smith. 

Explanation  of  the  Gospels.     Baltimore.     2  Vols.     12mo. 
Seiss,  J.  A. 

Lectures  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.     Baltimore.     1846. 

8vo.     Pp.  408. 
The  Gospel  in  Leviticus.     Phila.     1860.     12mo. 
Lectures  on  the  Gospels.     Phila. 
The  Apocalypse.    A  Series  of  Lectures.    Philadelphia.    1866. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  445 


Books  and  Articles  in  Reviews  Concerning  Luther, 

BY  NON-LUTHEKAN  WRITERS,  PUBLISHED 
IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


I  have  thought  that  the  following  list  Avould  be  at  least  inter- 
esting to  some  of  my  friends.     It  is  probable  that  my  list  is  not 

complete,  but  it  shows  the  popularity  of  the  Reformer.     Indeed, 

all  good  books  on  the  subject  are  eagerly  read. 

D'Aubigne.  History  of  the  Great  Reformation.  (Various  Edi- 
tions.) 

Chronicles  of  the  Schoenberg  Cotta  Family.     1864. 

Watchwords  from  the  Warfare  of  Life,  from  Dr.  Martin  Luther, 
translated  by  the  authors  of  Chronicles  of  the  Schoenberg 
Cotta  Family.     1868. 

History  of  the  Reformation,  extracted  from  Milner's  Church  His- 
tory.    2  Vol.     12mo. 

Robert  Montgomery.     Luther,  a  Poem. 

Henry  Mayhew.     The  Boyhood  of  Luther.     Harpers.     1864. 

Villers,  C.  An  Essay  on  the  Spirit  and  Influence  of  the  Refor- 
mation, by  Luther.     1867.     8vo. 

Child's  Life  of  Luther.     American  Tract  Society. 

Martyn,  W.  C.  Life  and  Times  of  Martin  Luther.  American 
Tract  Society. 

Sears,  B.     Select  Treatises  of  Martin  Luther.     Andover.     1846. 

Sears,  B.     Life  of  Martin  Luther.     Philadelphia.     18mo. 

Audin,  G.  M.  History  of  the  Life,  Writings  and  Doctrines  of 
Martin  Luther.  Philadelphia.  1841.  8vo.  (Roman  Cath- 
olic.) 

Bunsen,  Chev.  Life  of  Martin  Luther,  with  an  estimate  of  Luth- 
er's Character,  by  T.  Carlyle.     New  York.     12mo. 

Koenig,  Life  of  Luther,  with  fifty  historical  engravings.  New 
York.     1857.     4to. 

Michelet.  Life  of  Martin  Luther,  gathered  from  his  own  writ- 
ings.    New  York.     1846.     12mo. 

Hare.     Vindication  of  Luther. 

Labouchere.     Illustrations  of  the  Life  of  Luther. 

Adams,  Charles.  Words  that  Shook  the  AVorld,  or  Martin  Luth- 
er his  own  biographer.     New  York.     1856.     12mo. 


446  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Luther's  Christ  Baum  mit  Sechs  Schoenen  Bilder.    Steigor.     New 

York.     1855.     8vo. 
Luther  and  the  Eeformation  in  Germany,  with  an  Introdu'^tion 

by  Eev.  Dr.  T.  Stork.     Philadelphia.     8vo. 
Luther  and  His  Times.     Philadelphia.     12mo. 
Carlyle,  T.     Hero  Worship. 
Hazlitt's  Table  Talk  of  Luther. 


^y^qy\^!NE    JKND    I^EVIEW    -)\f(TICLE^    OJM    JaUTHEI^. 


Luther,  Michelet's  Life  of.     North  Amer.  Eev.,  LXiii,  433. 
Luther,  Martin.     Christian  Examiner,  xxx,  148  ;  xxxii,  19  ;  XLiii, 

98.     Southern  Literary  Messenger,  iv,  596. 
Luther  and  Melanchthon.     Southern  Literary  Messenger,  ix,  641. 
Luther  and  Zwingli.     Christ.  Exam.,  XLV,  170. 
Luther   at   "Worms.      Princeton    Eeview,  viii,  445.      Methodist 

Quarterly  Eev.,  IV,  528. 
Luther,  Cell  of.     South.  Lit.  Mess.,  ix,  746. 
Luther,  Childhood  and  Youth  of.     Amer.  Bib.  Eepository,  2nd 

Ser.,  Ill,  594. 
Luther,  Correspondence  and  Character  of.     Living  Age,  vi,  325. 
Luther,  Funeral  Oration  of.     Living  Age,  viii,  164. 
Luther  Incognito.     South.  Lit.  Mess.,  ii,  699. 
Luther,  Last  Days  and  Death  of.     Amer.  Bib.  Eepos.,  2d  Ser.,  i, 

195. 
Luther,  Life  and  Times  of.     Christian  Exam.,  xxviii,  402. 
Luther,  Eeligious  Experience  of.     Bibliotheca  Sacra,  v,  519. 
Luther,  Sear's  Life  of.     Princeton  Eev.,  xxii,  437. 
Luther,  Sear's  Life  of.     Bib.  Sac,  vii,  600. 
Luther,  Table  Talk.     Amer.  Bib.  Eepos.,  od  Ser.,  iii,  553. 
Luther,  Writings  of.     Amer.  Bib.  Eepos.,  ii,  191  ;  2nd  Ser.,  xi, 

241 ;  XII,  1. 
Lutheranism  and  the  Eeformation.     Amer.  Bib.  Eepos.,  3d  Ser., 

I,  119. 
Sears,  B.     The  Fathers  and  Founders  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 

Bib.  Sac,  xx,  636. 
Frequent  Notices  of  Amer.  Eepos.     i,  425-463. 
Martin  Luther  and  the  Old  Church.     National  Quar.,  xvi,  108. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  447 

Luther's  Correspondence  and  Character.     Eclectic,  Sep.,  1845. 
Luther  as  a  Preacher.     Dr.  Waterbury's  Eloquent  Preachers. 
Luther,  a  Man  of  Soul.     Dr.  Hazen's  Inaugural  Address. 
The  Reformation  :  Its  Spirit  and  Influences.     Christ.  Spectator, 

1854. 
Luther  and  his  Principles.     Bancroft,  U.  S.,  I,  457. 


WHITINGS  OF  LUTHERAN  MINISTERS 

IN  THE  UNITED  ST.\TES  ON  LUTIIELl  AND  THE  LUTHERAN  CHURCH. 


I  have  no  doubt  it  will  surprise  many  who  have  not  looked  at 
my  Bibliotheca  Lutherana,  that  so  many  of  our  ministei's  have 
written  on  these  subjects.  The  matter  is  of  such  absorbing 
interest,  and  most  of  these  w^ritings  are  so  creditable  to  their 
authors,  as  well  as  showing  their  Lutheran  zeal,  that  I  have 
thought  it  would  be  acceptable  to  give  a  list  of  them.  This  list 
embraces  only  hook  and  review  articles ;  there  are  many  others  of 
our  ministers  who  have  written  equally  well  for  our  church  papers 
on  the  same  subject,  but  not  being  in  book  or  review  form,  I 
could  not  collect  them.  For  size,  date  and  j^lace  of  publication 
see  the    Bibliotheca   Lutherana. 

Albaugh,  W. 

Life  of  Luther.     Translated  from  Meurer. 
Bachman,  J, 

Defence  of  Luther  and  the  Reformation. 

Sermons  on  the   Doctrines  and  Discipline  of  the  Lutheran 
Church. 
Baugher,  H.  L. 

The  Counter  Reformation. 
Bernheim,  G.  D. 

History  of  the  German    Settlements  and  of  the    Lutheran 
Church  in  North  and  South  Carolina. 
Borelius. 

The  Lutheran  Augustana  Synod  and  its  Mission. 
Brandt,  C.  A. 

Stimmen  der  Kirche  am  Reformations  Feste. 


448  FIFTY   YEARS  IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Brobst,  S.  K. 

Der  grosse  Mangel  in  der  Kirche. 

Ein  Wort  fiir  die  Deutsciien  in  d.  Luth.  Kirche. 

[Nearly  all  Brobst's  numerous  publications  have  reference  to 
the  Church]. 
Brown,  Abel  J. 

"Vindication  of  the  Lutheran  Synod  of  Tennessee. 

The  Lutheran  Church  built  on  the  only  true  Foundation. 
Brown,  James  A. 

The  Reformation  the  work  of  God. 

The  General  Synod  and  its  Assailants. 

The  Lutheran  Church  in  the  United  States. 

Union  in  the  Lutheran  Church. 

Dr.  Hodge  on  the  Luth,  Doctrine  of  the  Person  of  Christ. 

The  Ministerium. 

Augsburg  Confession  and  Second  coming  of  Christ. 

The  General  Synod. 

The  Four  General  Bodies,  wherein  they  agree,  &c.,  &c. 
Butler,  J.  B.  (Layman). 

History  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  Hopeful,  Ky. 

BUTTNER,  G. 

Geschichte  d.  Reformation. 
Conrad,  F.  W. 

The  Confessors  and  Confession  of  Augsburg. 

The  Lutheran  Doctrine  of  Baptism. 

The  Church. 

Characteristics  of  the  Augsburg  Confession. 

DiEHL,  G. 

Historical  Discourse  on  the  Church  in  Frederick. 
Holman  Lecture   on  the  Ninth  Article    of  Augsburg   Con- 
fession. 
Martin  Luther. 
The  Human  and  Divine  Factors  in  a  Call  to  the  Ministry. 

DOMER,  S. 

The  Jubilee  of  1865. 
Drees,  P.  J. 

Beitraage  zur  Mission  d.  Luth.  Kirche  in  New  York. 
FicK,  C.  L  H. 

Das  Martyner  Buch. 

Das  Luther  Buch. 

Lieder  zum  Jubilaeum  d.  Reformation. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHEBAN   MINISTRY.  419 

FiNCKEL,  S. 

Luther  and  the  Reformation. 
FocHT,  D.  H. 

History  of  Grindstone  Hill  Church. 

The  Lutheran  Church. 

The  Church  between  the  Mountains. 
Frank,  C.  A. 

Chemnitz's  Examen  Concil.  Trid. — translated. 
Fritsche,  G. 

(Various  articles.) 
Fry,  J. 

Catechism  for  the  Jubilee. 

The  Church  Book  Explained. 

GOTWALD,  W.  V. 

Jubilee  Catechism. 

History  of  St.  John's,  Lancaster. 
Graetz,  R. 

Ob  Papsthum  in  d.  Luth.  Kirche,  &c. 
Greenwald,  E. 

The  Lutheran  Reformation. 

The  True  Church. 

True  and  False  Spiritualism  as  Taught  by  Our  Confession. 
Grosse,  Prof. 

Katachese  iiber  d.  Symbolischen  Biicher. 
Harbaugh,  D. 

History  of  Hopeful  Church,  Ky. 
Harkey,  S.  W. 

Mission  of  Lutheran  Church  in  the  United  States. 

Mission  of  the  General  Synod. 

Importance  of  Developing  the  Resources   of  the   Lutheran 
Church. 

Early  History  of  Lutheran  Church  in  Illinois. 
Hay,  C.  a. 

The  Ministerium. 

Schmid's  Dogmatik — translated. 

The  Castle  of  Wartburg. 
Hazelius,  E.  L. 

Life  of  Luther. 

Augsburg  Confession. 

History  of  American  Lutheran  Church. 

Discipline,  Articles  of  Faith  of,  Synod  of  South  Carolina. 


450  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Henkel,  C. 

The  Reformation. 
Henkel,  A. 

Luttier  on  tlie  Sacraments — translated. 

Book  of  Concord — translated. 
Henkel,  D.  M. 

Mission  Work  of  Luth.  Church. 
Hill,  R. 

The  Luth.  Church  and  its  Mission. 
Hinterleitner,  G.  a. 

Ein  Baustein  zu  Luther's  Denkmale. 
Hoffman,  J.  N. 

The  Broken  Platform. 

The  Lutheran  Church. 
HOLMAN,  A.  P. 

The  Conflict  in  the  Church. 
Jacobs,  H.  E. 

Lutheran  Doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Day. 

Lutheran  Doctrine  of  the  Ministry. 

Lutheran  Doctrine  of  the  Sabbath. 

Compend  of  Lutheran  Theology — translated. 

Schmid's  Dogmatik — translated.     See  Hay. 

Day  of  Augsburg. 

Melanchthon. 

History  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  the  United  States. 
Kauffman,  J.  C. 

Home  Mission  Work  in  General  Synod. 
Kaehler,  C.  W. 

Jubelfest  Biichlein. 
Keyl,  E.  W.  C. 

Lutherophilus. 
KOSTERING,  J.  F. 

Auswanderung  d.  Siichsischen  Auswanderer  in  Jahre  1838. 
Krauth,  C.  p. 

Works  of  Melanchthon. 

General  Synod. 

Early  History  of  the  Lutheran  Church, 

Schmid's  Dogmatik. 

The  Lutheran  Church  in  the  United  States. 

Present  Position  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 

Contributions  to  the  History  of  Church. 

Luther  and  Melanchthon. 


fifty  years  in  the  lutueean  ministry.  451 

Krauth,  C.  p.,  Jr. 

Discourse  on  the  Burning  of  the  Old  Lutheran    Church  in 
Wisnhata. 

The  Ev.  Luth.  Church. 

Jubilee  Service. 

The  Reformation. 

Translation  of  Augsburg  Confession. 

Origin  and  Result  of  the  Ninty-five  Theses. 

New  Translation  of  the  Ninty-five  Theses. 

The  Conservative  Reformation. 

The  Relation  of  Confession  to  the  Reformation. 

Unity  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 

The  Luth.  Church  and  the  Divine  Obligation  of  the  Lord's 
Day. 

Bibliography  of  the  Augsburg  Confession. 

The  Reformation. 

The  Lutheran  Church. 
Krotel,  G.  F. 

The  Lutheran  Church  and  the  Denominations  Around  Us. 

Life  of  Melanchthon. 

The  Lutheran  Church. 

History  of  Trinity  Church. 

Fest  Predigt  in  Zion's  Kirche. 

Luther  and  the  Swiss. 
Kurtz,  B. 

Why  are  you  a  Lutheran  ? 

Year  Book  of  the  Reformation. 

Lutheran  Prayer  Book. 

Predictions  concerning  Luther. 

Passages  in  the  Life  of  Luther. 
Larsen,  L. 

The  Literal  Meaning  of  the  Words  of  Lord's  Supper. 
LiNDEMAN,  J.  C.  C. 

Luther,  als  Erzieher  d.  lugend. 

LiNTNER,  G.  A. 

Augsburg  Confession,  with  notes. 

Early  History  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  the  State  of  New 
York. 

LOCHMAN,  J.  G. 

History,  Doctrines  and  Discipline  of  Lutheran  Church. 


452  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY. 

LOY,    M. 

Life  and  Deeds  of  Luther. 

Luther's]|House  Postil. 

The  Lutheran  Cultus. 

Lutheran  Doctrine  of  Ordination. 
Luther,  D. 

The  Lutheran  Church  and  the  German  Language. 
Mageres,  S.  M. 

Translator  from  the  Danish  of  the  Articles  of  Faith  of  the 
Lutheran  Church. 
Mann,  AV.  J. 

Plea  for  the  Augsburg  Confession. 

Lutheranism  in  America. 

The  Great  Reformation. 

Theses  on  the  Lutheranism  of  Our  Church  Fathers  in   the 
United  States. 
Miller,  Clemens. 

Declaration  in  regard  to  Difficulties  in  the  Church, 
Miller,  G. 

Discourse  on  the  Fundamental  Principles  of  the  Eeformation. 

Doctrine  and  Discipline  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 
Mohldehnke,  E.  F. 

Theologie  vom  Luth.  Standpunckte  aus. 
Morris,  J.  G. 

Year  Book  of  the  Reformation. 

Sermon  on  the  Reformation. 

Blind  Girl  of  Wittenberg. 

To  Rome  and  back  again. 

Catherine  De  Bora. 

Quaint  Sayings  and  Doings  Concerning  Luther. 

Address  on  Reformation  Jubilee. 

Luther's  Visit  to  Rome. 

The  Theses  of  Luther. 

Luther  as  a  Pulpit  Orator, 

The  Literature  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 

Bibliotheca  Lutherana. 

Necessity  and  Blessings  of  the  Reformation. 

John  Reuchlin. 

John  Calvin, 

The  Augsburg  Confession  and  the  Thirty-nine  xA.rticles. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  453 

Muhlenberg,  F.  A. 

Centennary  Jubilee  of  Trinity  Church. 

The.ses  upon  the  Church. 
MULLER,  J.  A. 

Jubeifest  Biichlein. 

MULTANOWSKY,  E. 

Tst  Methodismus  u.  Lutberthumeinerlei? 
Peixoto,  E.  p. 

Leitfaden  zu  Erklaerung  d.  Kleinen  Catechismus. 

POHLMAN,  H.   X. 

Address  at  the  Semi-Centennial  of  Hartwick  Seminary. 

The  German  Colony  and  Lutheran  Church  in  Maine. 
Quitman,  F.  A. 

Sermon  on  the  Reformation. 
Rath,  J.  B. 

Catechism  for  the  Seventh  Jubilee. 
Richards,  J.  W. 

The  Walk  about  Zion. 
RiTz,  S. 

Dialogue,  Luther  and  the  Reformation. 
RuHLiNG,  J.  C.  (Layman). 

Das  Eche  d.  300  Jahriger  Jubelfeier. 
Sadtler,  B. 

Effect  of  the  Adoption  of  the  Formula  of  Concord  upon  the 
Lutheran  Church. 

SCHAEFFER,  D.  F. 

Address  on  the  Reformation. 

ScHAEFFER,  F.  C. 

The  Blessed  Reformation. 

SCHAEFFER,  C.  F. 

Sermon  at  the  Centennary  Jubilee  at  Lancaster. 
The  Lutheran  Doctrine  of  Election. 
The  Confessions  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 
Flaccus  Illyrius  and  his  Times. 
Maurice  and  the  Emperor. 

SCHAEFFER,  C.  W. 

Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  Lutheran  Church  at  Harrisbnrg, 
Early  History  of  Lutheran  Church  in  America. 
Luther's  Preaching. 
The  Lord's  Supper,  from  Luther. 

29 


454  fifty  years  in  the  lutheran  ministry. 

Schick,  G. 

Luther's  Anweisung  zum  rechten  Stadium  d.  Theologie. 

ScniERENBECK,'J.   H.  C. 

Lebensbesclareibungen  von  Luth.  Predigern  in  Amerika. 

Schmidt,  H.  I. 

Lutheran  Doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Supper, 

Meurers'  Life  of  Luther. 

The  three  Saxon  Electors  of  the  Era  of  the  Reformation. 

Condition  of  the  Church. 

The  Ambuscade  ;  Night  and  Morning. 

SCHMUCKER,  J.  G. 

Reformations  Geschichte. 
SCHMUCKER,  S.  S. 

Discourse  on  the  Reformation. 

The  American  Lutheran  Church. 

The  Peace  of  Zion. 

Lutheran  Manual. 

American  Lutheranism  Vindicated. 

Portraiture  of  Lutheranism. 

Retrospect  of  Lutheranism  in  the  United  States. 

Vocation  of  the  American  Lutheran  Church. 

The  Primitive  Church  and  that  of  the  Early  Reformers. 

SCHMUCKER,  B.  M. 

State  of  the  Church  in  Norway. 

Divine  Worship  as  held  by  the  Lutheran  Church. 
Seiss,  J.  A. 

Reflections  on  the  Lutheran  Church. 

Jus  Ecclesiasticum. 

Our  Temple. 

Digest  of  Christian  Doctrine. 

The  Lutheran  Church. 

How  shall  we  order  our  AVorship. 

Church  Forms  ;  Ministerial  Acts. 

Address  in  behalf  of  the  New  Lutheran  Church,  Phila. 

Brief  Survey  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 

The  Lutheran  Church  ;  The  Jubilee. 

Ecclesia  Lutherana  ;  The  Javelin. 

Misunderstandings  and  Misrepresentations  of  the  Lutheran 
Church. 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  455 

Severinghaus,  J.  D. 

Formel  Bach  ;  Denkscbrift  Zeugniss  fiir  den  Luth.  Charakter 
d.  General  Synode. 

The  Relation  of  the  Sermon  to  the  Church  Year. 

The  German  Language  in  the  Institutions  of  the  Lutheran 
Church. 
Sheeleigh,  M, 

Hymns  for  Sunday  Schools  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 

Lutheran  Almanac  ;  Ecclesiad  ;  Jubilee  Poem. 

Relation  of  the  Sunday  School  to  the  Church. 

The  Conservation  of  our  Church's  History. 

Historical  Society  of  General  Synod. 
Shober,  G. 

History  of  the  Lutheran  Reformation  and  of  the  Lutheran 
Church. 
Spieker,  G.  F. 

Hutten's  Compend  of  Lutheran  Theology:  Translated. 
Sprecher,  S. 

Article  IL  of  Augsburg  Confession  ;  Holman  Lecture. 

The  jirinciple  of  the  Lutheran  Reformation. 
Springer,  F. 

Lutheranism  in  the  United  States. 

The  Lutheran  Churoh  in  Illinois. 
Steimle,  F.  W.  T. 

Die  Reformation  cin  Werk  Gottes. 
Stoever,  M.  L.  (Layman). 

Life  and  Times  of  Henry  Melchior  Muhlenberg. 

Sketch  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  this  Country. 

Discourse  before  the  General  Synod. 

Life  and  Correspondence  of  Dr.  Quitman. 

Martin  Luther  at  the  Diet  of  Worms. 

Lutheran  Church  in  the  United  States  ;  General  Synod. 

Patriarchs  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  from  Halle. 

[Numerous  Sketches  of  Deceased  Lutheran  Ministers,  printed 
in  Evangelical  Review.] 
Stohlman,  C.  F.  E. 

Ich  bin  auch  in  Lutheraner. 
Stork,  T. 

Life  of  Luther  and  of  the  Reformation. 

Luther's  Christmas  Tree. 

Luther  at  Home. 


456  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Stork,  C.  A. 

The  Reformation  God's  Work. 

Liturgical  Forms  in  Worship. 
Straeffer,  J.  M.  (Layman). 

Lutheranism  and  Lutherans. 

Strobel,  W.  D. 

Jubilee  Tract. 
Strobel,  P.  A. 

The  Salzburgers  and  their  Descendants. 
Stuckenberg,  J.  H.  W. 

Ninety-five  Theses. 

History  of  the  Augsburg  Confession. 

The  Authority  of  the  Augsburg  Confession. 

Titus,  T.  T. 

History  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  Lower  Merion. 

Torgersen,  J.  Z. 

Translation  of  Bp.  Po-ntopopidau's  Catechism. 

Valentine,  M. 

The  Reformation. 

Education  in  the  Lutheran  Church. 

Voqeleach,  J. 

Leben  Dr.  M.  Luther. 

Walther,  C.  F.  W. 

Warum  hangen  wir  so  fest  an  d.  Luth.  Kirche  ? 

Warum  sind  d.  Symbol.  Biicher unbedingt  zu  unter- 

schreiben  ? 
Die    Luth.    Kirche    d.    wahre    sichtbare    Kirche   Gottes   auf 

Erden. 
Jubels  fest  Predigt. 
Warum  sollen  wir  unser  Luthers,  denen  Namen  wir  tragen, 

nicht  Schamen  ? 
Die  Kirche  d.  Reformation. 
Warum  sollen  wir  den   bekanten    Schriften   unserer  Luth. 

Kirche  auch  noch  fest  halten  ? 
Predigt  am  Reformations  Fest. 

Wedekind,  a.  C. 

Sacramental  Ideas  of  Lutheran  Church  in  Relation  to  Prac- 
.    tical  Piety, 


fifty  years  in  the  lutheran  ministry.  457 

Weiser,  R, 

Life  of  Luther. 

Lutheranisin  before  Luther. 

The  Delivery  of  the  Augsburg  Confession. 

The  Missionary  Institute. 

The  Lutheran  Jubilee. 
Wyneken,  F.  C. 

Die  noth  d.  Deutschen  Lutheraner  in  Amerika. 


TFiE  COLLOQUIUM  AND  THE  DIET. 


For  several  years  before  1875  the  subject  of  holding  a  general 
convention  of  our  church  in  this  country,  for  a  free  discussion 
upon  the  points  which  we  did  not  all  hold  in  common,  was  extensive- 
ly discussed.  These  points  related  chiefly  to  the  Sacraments,  and  to 
Pulpit  and  Altar  Fellowship.  Others  of  minor  importance,  such 
as  secret  societies,  &c.,  would  also  have  been  introduced  if  such  a 
meeting  had  been  held. 

The  church  papers  were  crowded  with  articles  on  the  subject 
for  some  months,  and  the  advocates  and  the  opponents  of  the 
measure  were  not  divided  by  party  lines.  There  were  friends 
and  foes  in  every  school. 

It  was  argued  by  its  advocates  that  a  large  assemblage  of  our 
ministers  in  friendly  discussion  for  some  days  would  of  itself  have 
a  beneficent  effect,  even  if  nothing  definite  were  settled ;  that  so- 
cial intercourse,  mutual  acquaintance  and  fraternal  greetings 
would  lead  to  harmonizing  results.  They  also  hoped  that  those 
in  alleged  error  upon  either  of  these  points  might,  perhaps,  be 
brought  to  change  their  minds,  or,  at  least,  to  relax  the  severity 
of  their  views,  and  that  this  would  prepare  the  way  gradually  for 
a  final  reconciliation  and  universal  agreement. 

Overtures  of  a  fraternal  character  were  made  by  the  General 
Synod  to  the  Council,  but  they  resulted  in  nothing  permanent. 
The  former  body  discussed  the  subject  at  length  at  its  meeting  in 
Baltimore  in  1875,  where  it  was  voted  that  it  was  not  expedient  to 
hold  a  Colloquium,  and  from  that  time  the  question  has  not  been 


458  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

agitated.  The  opponents  of  the  measure  in  the  General  Synod 
would  not  entertain  the  idea  for  a  moment  of  going  into  conven- 
tion with  men  who  they  apprehended  would  not  recognize  their 
Lutheran  orthodoxy  nor,  perhaps,  admit  their  claim  to  the  name 
of  Lutheran,  which  I  think  was  unfounded. 

(a.)  Because,  on  account  of  the  expense  and  distance  of  resi- 
dence of  many,  even  from  a  central  point  of  meeting,  there  would 
not  be  a  full  or  even  partial  representation  of  all  the  Synods. 

(b.)  Presuming  that  there  might  be  a  meeting  of  several  hun- 
dred, there  was  no  place  in  the  central  section  of  the  church  which 
offered  to  entertain  so  large  a  number  of  men,  and  few  could  af- 
ford to  come,  paying  both  the  expense  of  travel  and  of  board. 

(c.)  It  would  require  at  least  one  or  more  months'  time  to  dis- 
cuss, with  any  degree  of  thoroughness,  the  subjects  proposed,  and 
few  of  our  men  can  ordinarily  remain  away  from  home  longer 
than  a  week,  even  at  their  Synod.  It  was  felt  that  the  discussion 
of  one  or  two,  or  even  three  2>oints,  would  result  in  no  permanent 
benefit. 

(d.)  The  Missouri  Synod  refused  to  join  a  colloquium  except 
upon  such  conditions  which  could  not  for  a  moment  be  recognized, 
and  it  was  apprehended  that  some  others  would  also  propose  such 
conditions  of  membership,  which  would  occasion  controversy,  even 
at  the  beginning,  fatal  to  the  intended  design. 

These  and  some  other  reasons  determined  a  majority  vote 
against  the  measure  in  the  General  Synod,  and  the  project  was 
abandoned. 

Defeated  in  the  hope  of  a  general  colloquium,  I  did  not  give  up 
the  hope  of  accomplishing  some  good  by  drawing  our  men 
together  in  some  other  way,  and  I  began  by  throwing  out  hints  in 
the  Observer  about  the  expediency  of  a  more  limited  Diet.  I 
matured  the  matter  privately,  named  the  men  who  were  to  take 
prominent  parts  and  selected  some  of  the  subjects  for  essays  to  be 
read.  The  plan  was  sanctioned  by  those  to  whom  I  communicated 
it  privately,  and  then  I  laid  it  before  Dr.  Seiss  and  solicited  his 
co-operation.  He  promptly  entered  into  it  and  we  divided  the 
arrangement  of  the  affair  between  us.  I  undertook  the  corres- 
pondence, and  I  wrote  over  fifty  letters  before  the  work  was 
completed.  Secrecy  was  enjoined  upon  all,  for  Ave  desired  to 
avoid  discussion  in  the  papers,  which  might  have  occasioned 
confusion.     We  thought  it  best  to  assume  all  the  responsibility 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  459 

ourselves — appoint  essayists,  officers,  time,  place  and  everything, 
believing  that  if  these  were  left  to  the  decision  of  a  public 
meeting  or  to  newspaper  settlement,  nothing  would  ever  have 
been  done.  No  special  time,  place,  men,  subjects  would  have 
suited  all,  and  hence,  to  cut  the  matter  short,  we  took  it  upon 
ourselves  to  arrange  the  meeting. 

We  expected  that  various  changes  would  be  suggested  and 
complaints  made,  and  no  sooner  had  the  announcement  been  made 
than  they  began  to  be  heard.  A  few  complained  that  they  were 
not  invited  to  read  a  paper ;  others  that  the  "West  had  been  left 
out ;  change  of  time  and  place  was  proposed  but  it  was  too  late 
for  any  alteration.  Some  thought  that  if  Prof.  Repass  was  invited 
to  represent  the  South,  others  from  places  equally  remote  should 
have  been  equally  honored,  but  it  was  thought  proj^er  to  call  in 
the  South  as  an  act  of  Christian  comity,  inasmuch  as  their  Synods 
belonged  neither  to  the  Council  nor  to  the  General  Synod  ;  and 
again,  it  was  thought  that  men  living  at  a  distance  from  the  centre 
would  not  attend  the  Diet  in  mid  winter  ;  and  finally,  that  the 
distant  sections  of  the  church  would  also  hold  Diets  as  the  central 
section  projDosed  to  do. 

It  was  hard  work  to  make  arrangements  for  a  meeting  as  it 
was,  without  going  farther  out  of  the  way,  and  as  this  was  the 
first  and  a  doubtful  experiment,  we  concluded  not  to  spread  out 
too  far  in  the  beginning.  Hereafter  it  will  be  differently 
arranged,  and  other  men  can  learn  from  our  experience. 

Objection  was  made  to  the  time,  but  we  presumed  that  inasmuch 
as  about  half  of  the  essayists  were  professors,  it  would  be  well  to 
hold  the  Diet  during  their  vacation.  Philadelphia  was  chosen  as 
the  place,  because  we  could  there  secure  a  larger  attendance  of 
our  ministers  at  less  expense  and  trouble  than  at  any  other  place, 
for  there  are  three  hundred  within  three  hours  distance  from  that 
city,  besides  those  students  of  the  Seminary  who  might  be  there 
during  the  Christmas  vacation. 

The  following  was  the  first  announcement,  made  in  November, 
1877,  and  which  appeared  in  the  Observer  and  in  the  Lutheran 
the  same  week  : 

A    LUTHERAN    CHURCH    DIET. 

A  Free  Diet  of  the  Lutheran  church  to  discuss  living  subjects 
of  general  worth  and  importance  to  all  Lutherans  has  been  ar- 


460  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

ranged  to  be  held  in  the  lecture  room  of  St.  Matthew's  church 
(Dr.  Baum's),  in  Philadelphia,  beginning  at  10  A.  M.  on  Thurs- 
day, December  27th,  1877,  to  continue  in  session  several  days. 

The  chief  business  of  this  Diet  will  be  the  reading  of  essays  on 
given  topics  by  men  engaged  for  the  purpose,  and  the  free  discus- 
sion of  the  subject  of  each  essay  after  its  presentation.  The  es- 
sayists engaged,  and  with  whom  is  the  responsibility  for  the  calling 
and  character  of  this  Diet,  are : 

1.  "  The  Augsburg  Confession  the  Source  of  the  Thirty-nine  Arti- 

cles of  the  Church,  of  England,  and  incidentally,  of  all  other 
Protestant  Confessions. ''  Rev.  J.  G.  Morris,  D.  D.,  LL.  D., 
of  Baltimore,  Md. 

2.  "  The  Relations  of  the  Lutheran  Church  to  the  Denominations 

around  us."  Rev.  Prof.  C.  P.  Krauth,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  of 
Philadelphia',  Pa. 

3.  "  The  Four  General  Bodies  of  the   Lutheran  Church  in  the 

United  States,  wh"rein  they  agree,  and  wherein  they  might 
harmoniously  co-ojxrute"  Rev.  Prof.  J.  A.  Brown,  D.  D., 
of  Gettysburg,  Pa. 

4.  "  The  History  and  progress  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  the 

United  States."  Rev.  Prof.  H.  E.  Jacobs,  D.  D.,  of  Gettys- 
burg, Pa. 

5.  "■Education  in  the  LutJu-ran  Church  in  the    United  States." 

Rev.  Prof.  M.  Valentine,  D.  D.,  of  Gettysburg,  Pa. 

6.  "  The  Lnterests  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  America-,  as  Afftcted 

hy  Diversities  of  Language."  D.  Luther,  M.  D.,  of  Read- 
ing, Pa. 

7.  "  Misunderstandings  and  Misrepresentations  of  the  Lutheran 

Church."     Rev.  J.  A.  Seiss,  D.  D.,  of  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

8.  "  Characteristics  of  the   Augshtirg  Confession."     Rev.    F.  W. 

Conrad,  D.  D.,  of  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

9.  "  Liturgical  Forms  in  Worship."     Rev.  C.  A.  Stork,  D.  D.,  of 

Baltimore,  Md. 

10.  "  Theses  on  the  Lutheranism  of  th-  Fatlicrs  of  our  Church  in 

this  Countryr  Rev.  Prof.  W.  J.  Mann,  D.  D.,  of  Phila- 
delphia, Pa. 

11.  "  The  Divine  and  Human  Factors  in  a  Call  to  the  Ministry, 

as  viewed  by  Lutheran  Tlieologians."     Rev.  G.  Diehl,  D.  D. 
of  Frederick,  Md. 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  461 

12.  "  The  Educational  and  Sacramental  Ideas  of  the  Lutheran 

Church  in  Relation  to  Practical  Piclyy     Rev.  A.  C.  Wede- 
kind,  D.  D.,  of  New  York. 

13.  "  True  and  Fahe  Spiritualism."    Rev.  E.  Greenwald,  D.  D., 

of  Lancaster,  Pa. 

The  Diet  was  an  acknowledged  success,  one  hundred  Lutheran 
ministers  having  been  in  attendance,  and  has  created  so  marked 
and  favorable  an  impression  as  to  warrant  the  belief  that  a  very 
large  edition  of  The  Proceedings  will  be  called  for.  Ten  thou- 
sand copies  should  be  sold.  The  volume  should  be  in  the  library 
of  every  Lutheran.  It  is  one  of  the  most  important  Lutheran 
books  that  has  ever  been  published  in  America. 

As  the  publication  of  The  Proceedings  involves  considerable  ex- 
penditure of  money,  the  publisher  would  earnestly  request  the 
recipient  of  the  enclosed  to  reply  immediately,  whether  ordering 
or  not  ordering  the  book.  By  this  means,  when  the  MS.  is  ready 
for  the  press,  some  idea  can  be  formed  of  how  large  an  edition 

should  be  published. 

J.  Frederick  Smith,  Publisher, 
January,  1878.  42  North  9th  Street,  Philadelphia. 

No  essay  is  to  exceed  forty-five  minutes  in  length,  and  no  speech 
in  the  general  discussion  shall  exceed  ten  minutes.  The  essayist 
shall  always  have  the  right  of  making  the  closing  speech  on  the 
subject  presented  by  him. 

No  subjects  other  than  those  of  the  essays  will  be  discussed,  and 
no  vote  will  be  taken  on  any  of  the  subjects  considered. 

No  essay  will  be  received  which  has  already  appeared  in  print, 
and  the  manuscript  of  each  essay  is  to  be  furnished  for  publica- 
tion ;  also  a  synopsis  of  each  speech  in  the  discussion. 

The  peculiar  difficulties  of  the  situation  and  the  hazardous  un- 
certainty of  calling  an  unorganized  promiscuous  convention  have 
induced  the  determination  of  all  the  arrangements  in  advance,  as 
above  given,  and  no  proposed  changes  for  this  Diet  will  be  enter- 
tained. If  others  should  follow  it,  the  method  of  procedure  may 
be  according  to  what  is  thought  best  after  the  experience  in  this 
case. 

Though  all  these  things  have  been,  as  only  they  could  be,  pri- 
vately arranged,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  there  will 
be  a  general  interest  in  what  is  thus  proposed,  and  that  our  min- 


462  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

isters  and  laymen  will  heartily  second  what  has  been  done  and 
favor  the  Diet  with  their  presence  and  participation. 

P.  S. — As  this  convention  is  not  a  Synod,  or  other  organized 
body  called  by  authority  or  by  vote,  the  ministers  and  congrega- 
tions in  Philadelphia  have  not  been  engaged  to  make  general  pro- 
vision for  the  entertainment  of  those  in  attendance;  but  timely 
conference  with  friends  in  the  city  will  no  doubt  secure  free  ac- 
commodations to  those  members  of  the  Diet  who  desire  it  while 
in  attendance. 

The  Diet  was  held  in  St.  Matthew's  church,  Philadelphia,  De- 
cember 27-28,  and  was  attended  by  the  precise  number  of  one 
hundred  Lutheran  ministers. 

The  meeting  was  characterized  by  the  spirit  of  fraternal  confi- 
dence and  mutual  regard,  and  so  favorable  was  the  impression 
made  that  a  committee  was  appointed  to  make  arrangements  for 
another  at  a  suitable  time.  Mr.  J.  Frederick  Smith,  of  Phila- 
delphia, assumed  the  responsibility  of  publishing  the  essays. 

Most  of  our  church  papers  spoke  favorably  of  the  Diet,  and  all 
were  compelled  to  acknowledge  that  the  conception  was  good  and 
that  the  result  may  ultimately  be  beneficial. 


Visits  of  Foreign  Lutheran  Mini;^teps  to  the  United  States. 


Whilst  numerous  American  clergymen  pay  a  short  visit  to  Europe 
every  summer,  and  not  a  few  extend  their  tour  to  Egypt  and  Pal- 
estine, there  are  comparatively  few  European  ministers,  Germans 
especially, who  visit  our  country  for  recreation.  The  reasons  are  that 
very  few  of  those  Germans  can  aflFord  the  expense  ;  secondly,  they 
would  find  it  difficult  to  secure  leave  of  absence  for  so  long  a  period 
from  their  official  superiors;  and  thirdly,  they  have  not  the  roaming 
disposition  which  Ave  Americans  have.  They  are  hard  to  move. 
Although  multitudes  of  their  parishioners  come  over  here  to  set- 
tle permanently,  yet  clergymen  have  no  motive,  and  they  are 
content  to  stay  at  home. 

Some  scientific  and  literary  Germans  of  high  distinction  have 
traveled  through  our  country,  a  few  of  whom  I  have  met.     Koch, 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  463 

an  eminent  conchologist,  spent  some  time  in  Baltimore,  whom  I 
had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  and  of  rendering  him  some  service. 
But  the  only  other  one  I  shall  here  mention  is  the  great  historian, 
Von  Rauvier.  He  came  here  accompanied  by  his  son.  The  Pro- 
fessor was  a  small,  lithe,  active  man,  of  about  sixty  years  of  age 
at  that  time,  who  experienced  no  inconvenience  whatever  in  as- 
cending the  Washington  monument,  the  view  from  which  he  thought 
was  one  of  the  finest  he  had  ever  seen.  I  showed  him  all  the 
sights  worth  seeing  in  this  city,  but  he  seemed  more  interested  in 
our  political  than  in  our  artistic  or  literary  condition.  He  had 
no  high  opinion  of  the  state  of  art  among  us,  and  I  will  never 
forget  his  criticism  upon  that  group  of  sculpture  on  the  east  front 
of  the  Capitol  at  Washington.  He  said  that  Columbus  with  the 
globe  in  his  hand  looked  precisely  like  a  fellow  who  was  about 
trying  to  make  a  ten  strike  in  a  ball  alley,  and  I  dare  not  record 
here  what  he  said  of  the  Indian  group  of  the  same  place.  When 
I  tried  to  apologize  by  telling  him  that  these  figures  were  designed 
and  sculptured  by  a  foreigner,  he  shut  me  up  by  retorting  that 
the  committee  of  Congress  who  had  the  affair  in  charge,  and  the 
whole  country,  whose  money  paid  for  them,  were  to  be  blamed  for 
accepting  such  monstrosities  from  the  pretended  artist ! 

After  I  had  gone  the  rounds  with  the  Professor,  he  said  there 
was  one  thing  more  he  wanted  to  see,  and  what  do  you  think  that 
was  ?  -4  negro  revival  meeting  !  The  eminent  German  historian, 
the  philosopher,  the  diplomat,  wanted  to  see  an  exhibition  of  fa- 
naticism !  He  had  read  of  those  wonderful  demonstrations,  and 
that  which  to  us  is  an  almost  every  day  occurrence,  and  of  no  in- 
terest, because  of  its  frequency,  was  to  him  a  matter  of  intense 
curiosity.  He  regarded  it  in  a  physiological  aspect,  and  philos- 
ophized about  it  wonderfully.  The  shrieks,  the  distortions  of  face, 
the  rolling  on  the  floor,  the  confused  mingling  of  praying  and 
singing,  the  unearthly  yells,  the  indescribable  confusion  created 
by  clapping  of  hands  and  stamping,  and  other  religious  gymnas- 
tics of  these  deluded  people,  amazed  him  at  first,  and  then  by  turns 
amused  and  saddened  him.  He  had  seen  the  dancing  Dervishes 
in  the  East,  and  every  form  of  fanatical  worship,  but  this  exceeded 
all.  He  was  satisfied,  and  expressed  his  regret  that  such  dis- 
graceful exhibitions  should  be  made  in  the  name  of  Christianity. 
What  was  wonderful  to  him,  also,  was  that  the  Government  should 
allow  such  demo7istrations  of  insane  fanaticism  / 


464  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

But  I  wish  to  speak  particularly  of  German  clergymen.  In 
1849,  Fliedner  of  the  Kaiserswerth  Deaconness  Institution  was  in 
this  country.  He  had  letters  to  me,  but  not  finding  me  in  Bal- 
timore, he  followed  me  to  York,  where  I  was  sojourning  for  a 
few  days.  It  was  the  day  on  which  General  Taylor  passed 
through  that  place  on  his  presidential  tour,  and  of  course  there 
was  a  popular  demonstration.  The  President  made  a  clumsy 
speech  from  the  platform  of  the  railroad  car,  and  the  crowd 
shouted  vociferously.  To  my  surprise  and  amusement,  Fliedner 
waved  his  hat  and  was  as  noisy  in  his  applause  as  any  of  them. 
He  said  he  was  completely  carried  away  with  the  enthusiasm  of 
the  people,  never  having  witnessed  such  a  scene  before,  and 
especially  admiring  the  simplicity  and  patriotism  of  a  Republican 
people,  who  could  thus  greet  their  Chief  Magistrate,  whom  they 
themselves  had  elected,  and  who,  unattended  by  soldiery  and 
undistinguished  from  them  in  dress,  could  thus  travel  through  the 
country  receiving  the  homage  of  the  sovereign  joeople.  It  was  to 
Fliedner  a  sublime,  moral  spectacle. 

I  should  judge  that  he  was  about  fifty  years  of  age,  but  very 
active  in  movement  and  sprightly  in  conversation.  He  saw  many 
things  to  admire  in  our  manners  and  culture,  and  much  to  be 
grieved  at  in  our  exhibition  of  the  charities  of  Christianity. 

I  took  him  with  me  to  Baltimore  and  put  him  in  the  way  of 
visiting  our  penal  and  eleemosynary  institutions.  I  remember 
one  day  he  came  home  deeply  dejected,  and  upon  inquiring  into 
the  cause,  he  told  me  that  he  had  just  come  from  the  city  prison, 
where  he  conversed  with  an  unfortunate  youcg  girl  who  had  been 
committed  for  some  petty  crime,  and  that  she  had  not  been  visited  by 
some  Christian  female  to  instruct  and  reform  her.  In  his  impul- 
sive nature,  he  exclaimed,  "  My  God  !  have  you  no  Christian 
women  here  who  visit  their  sinning  or  sick  sisters  in  prison  ? 
What  is  the  character  of  your  American  Christianity?"  I  was 
compelled  to  confess  that  generally  it  did  not  assume  that  feature. 
I  had  no  doubt  that  many  Christian  women  would  freely  con- 
tribute money  to  the  rescue  of  the  fallen,  but  as  to  "  visiting  them 
in  prison"  it  was  not  considered  genteel!  He  could  not  appre- 
ciate my  lame  apology,  nor  could  I. 

He  left  us  with  exalted  esteem  for  our  thrift,  energy  and 
prosperity  as  a  people,  but  with  rather  moderate  appreciation  of 
our  practical  piety.     His  Christianity  was  love  to  God  and  men, 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  465 

manifested  in  -works  of  kindness  and  relief  to  all  classes  and 
doing  good  by  tlie  exercise  of  self-denial  to  the  poor,  tlie  lowly, 
the  sinful  and  the  forsaken. 

Some  years  ago,  an  accomplished  and  fine  looking  yonng  man, 
a  brother  of  Prof.  Olshausen,  of  Berlin,  visited  us.  He  had  some 
sort  of  commission  from  the  Prussian  government,  whether  diplo- 
matic or  ecclesiastical,  I  could  not  find  out,  but  he  was  very 
diligent  in  his  inquiries  about  the  religious  condition  of  the 
Germans. 

I  never  knew  what  impressions  he  carried  away  concerning  us, 
but  he  witnessed  some  sights  w-hich  were  not  calculated  to  impress 
him  very  favorably.  He  was  unfortunately  present  at  the  meeting 
of  one  of  our  Synods  in  Pennsylvania,  during  which  the  humili- 
ating spectacle  of  the  settlement  of  a  difficulty  between  two 
ministers  was  enacted.  The  mutual  recriminations  were  anything 
but  amiable,  and  these  were  conveyed  in  German,  that  was  far 
from  being  classic.  The  well-bred  young  foreigner  went  away 
disgusted. 

"The  alliance,"  in  1873,  brought  over  a  number  of  German 
celebrities.  It  was  my  privilege  to  meet  most  of  them  at  a  social 
reunion  in  Baltimore,  after  a  public  religious  meeting  in  one  of 
our  German  churches,  at  which  three  or  four  of  them  delivered 
stirring  addresses,  more  in  our  American  style  than  is  usual  with 
freshly  arrived  Germans.  They  were  all  first  class  men  ;  sociable, 
refined,  and  truly  pious.  Our  reunion  was  an  event;  it  was 
after  the  good  old  German  style  and  we  kept  up  our  spirited 
conversation  to  a  late  hour.  There  were  nearly  twenty  of  us 
together,  and  the  intellectual  and  social  enjoyment  was  superb. 

I  am  indebted  to  a  friend  for  the  folio  .ving  sketches  of  four  of 
the  men  here  named  : 

1.  The  Rev.  J.  A.  Dorner,  D.  D.,  Professjr  of  Theology  in 
the  University  of  Berlin.  I  mention  him  first,  because  of  his  se- 
niority in  years ;  secondly,  because  of  his  official  position — Ober- 
Consisforial  Hath— a.nd  thirdly,  because  of  his  deserved  reputation 
as  one  of  the  ablest  .speculative  divines  of  the  age.  His  Christol- 
ogy — Eiitwiclcelungs  Geschichtc  der  Person  Christi — has  attained  a 
classical  position  among  theologians  of  all  denominations.  His 
Theme  at  the  Evangelical  Alliance  held  in  October  2-12,  1873, 
"  The  Infallibilism  of  the  Vatican  Council  and  Nominal 
Protestantism,"  was  an  exhaustive  discussion  of  fallible  men, 
making  an  infallible  Fope  !      It  was  an  unwise  arrangement  by 


4G6  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

wliich  his  jiowerful  Paper  lost  much  of  its  influence  at  the  time  of 
its  delivery,  to  induce  him  to  present  it  in  very  broken  and  de- 
fective English.  As  it  now  stands  in  very  accurate  and  beautiful 
English  dress  given  to  it  by  Dr.  Schaff,  in  the  Alliance  Volume, 
it  will  be  of  permanent  value  to  all  who  desire  to  investigate  that 
subject  thoroughly. 

Dr.  Dorner  is  small  of  stature ;  of  childlike  simplicity  of  man- 
ner ;  very  genial  and  unpretending.  He  resembles  Dr.  Tholuck 
somewhat  in  appearance,  has  the .  same  benevolent  disposition, 
which  occasionally  has  led  him,  in  his  official  position,  to  yield 
concessions  to  the  rationalistic  element  around  him,  that  have 
pained  the  more  rigid  orthodox  party  in  the  German  Empire.  But 
his  earnest  Christian  spirit,  combined  with  his  profound  learning, 
critical  penetration  and  power  of  generalization,  has  exerted  a 
most  salutary  influence  on  Evangelical  piety  throughout  Germany. 
He  expressed  great  willingness  to  assist  us  in  securing  rechglaii- 
bige  Prediger,  for  the  many  thousand  Germans  that  had  come 
and  were  continually  coming  to  us  from  the  "  Fatherland." 

2.  The  Rev.  W.  Noel,  Counselor  of  the  •'  Oher-Kirchenrath.'' 
First  Pastor  of  the  Louisa  Parish  Church  at  Berlin,  and  Secretary 
of  the  German  Evangelical  Church  Diet.  His  subject  was:  The 
Evavgelival  Alliance ;  its  Objects  and  Pnfiuence  in  Promoting  the 
Universal  Priesthood  of  Believers  to  the  Communion  of  Saints. 
This  was  a. theme  for  the  heart  more  than  for  the  head.  Not  that 
it  lacked  profundity  of  thought,  or  keen  critical  analysis ;  for  it 
possessed  both  in  an  eminent  degree ;  but  the  entire  subject  and 
its  development  was  baptized  with  a  spirit  of  love.  Indeed, 
Counselor  Noel  could,  with  propriety,  be  styled  the  John  of  the 
German  delegation.  And  a  happy  day  will  it  be  for  the  Church, 
when  his  theme  and  his  spirit  will  not  only  be  regarded  as  pium 
desiderium,  but  as  the  universal  practice  of  all  believers. 

On  the  last  evening  of  the  Convention  Counselor  Noel  delivered 
an  address  in  the  Cooper  Institute,  to  at  least  four  thousand  Ger- 
mans, on  Missio7is  of  the  Evangelical  Church  of  Prussia  among 
German  Protestant  Cotigregations  abroad..  It  was  an  intensely 
interesting  discourse,  and  many  of  us  opened  our  eyes  and  ears  as 
we  were  told  of  the  German  congregations  in  the  Danubian  Prin- 
cipalities, in  Turkey,  in  Jerusalem  and  Bethlehem,  in  Alexandria 
and  Cairo.  We  hardly  could  believe  our  ears  when  we  were  in- 
formed of  the  many  flourishing  congregations  in  South  America  : 
in  Buenos  Ayres,  two  thousand  five  hundred  souls  ;  in  Montevideo, 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  467 

three  hundred  and  fifty  souls  ;  in  Porto  Alegre  (South  Brazil),  one 
thousand  two  hundred ;  with  at  least  fifty  other  places  scattered 
through  that  empire.  We  more  than  smiled  when  we  heard  of 
the  Hamburger- Berg,  in  Brazil,  with  two  hundred  and  eighty  fam- 
ilies, and  in  New  Pfiropolis,  with  one  thousand  one  hundred  souls. 
We  felt  like  shouting  when  we  were  told  that  Luther  was  preach- 
ing in  Rome  by  his  translated  Bible  and  his  catechism  to  two 
hundred  and  fifty  souls  every  Lord's  day,  and  in  Florence  to  six 
hundred,  and  in  Venice,  Milan,  Leghorn,  Naples  and  Messina. 
Could  the  intrepid  Reformer  have  imagined,  even  in  his  most  san- 
guine moments,  any  such  results?  Sure  enough,  Melanchthon 
was  right  when  he  said — 

"  Gottes  Wert  und  Luther's  Lehr 
Vergehcn  nun  und  nimmermelir." 

o.  The  Rev.  W.  Kraft,  D.  D.,  Professor  of  Church  History  in 
the  University  of  Bonn.  His  subject  was — ''The  Vatican  Council 
and  the  Old  Catholic  Movement^  Such  a  theme  from  such  a  pen 
could  not  but  be  exhaustive.  With  a  master  hand  he  laid  open 
the  inner  working  of  that  council.  Step  by  steji  he  traced  the 
monstrous  assumption  of  Papal  Infallibility,  and  poured  such  a 
flood  of  historic  light  upon  his  theme  that  the  blasphemy  of  the 
odious  dogma  become  absolutely  disgusting.  In  no  paper  read  at 
the  Alliance  Convention  were  the  wily  machinations  of  the  Jesuits 
made  to  stand  out  in  such  bold  relief  as  in  this.  They  had  every 
thing  their  own  way,  because  everything  had  been  pre-arranged. 
The  high  hopes  entertained  by  Dr.  Kraft  of  the  Old  Catholic  Move- 
ment have  not  been  and  will  not  be  realized,  simply  because  no 
reformation  within  the  Romish  Church  is  possible.  Reformation 
there  means  destruction.  Battering  to  pieces  certain  abuses  of 
Popery  is  doubtless  a  great  work,  but,  unless  the  vital  truths  of 
the  pure  Gospel  be  substituted  in  all  their  fullness,  it  is  the  mere 
taking  of  the  outer  trenches;  the  citadel  remains  intact;  it  re- 
mains mere  head  work,  for  which  the  masses  have  little  taste  and 
less  heart.  Luther  understood  this  much  better  ;  for  whilst  he 
smote  with  a  giant's  arm  the  former,  he  supplied  with  a  shepherd's 
care  the  latter,  and  so  was  successful. 

Dr.  Kraft  is  in  the  prime  of  life,  a  sound  theologian,  a  ripe 
scholar,  a  sincere  Christian,  and  a  noble  specimen  of  a  Teuton. 

4.  The  Rev.  Theodore  Christlieb,  D.  D.,  Professor  of  Theol- 
ogy, and  Chaplain  in  the  University  of  Bonn.     His  subject  was — 


468  FIFTY    YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

The  Best  Methods  of  Counteracting  Modern  Infidelity.  He 
was  undoubtedly  the  great  man  of  the  Convention,  the  giant  among 
giants.  He  had  the  decided  advantage  over  all  his  associates  from 
Germany,  that  he  spoke  the  English  language  as  fluently  as  "  if 
native  to  the  manor  born."  Whenever  and  wherever  he  spoke,  he 
chained  his  audience  as  if  by  magic.  With  a  pleasing  personnel, 
he  unites  a  musical  voice,  a  vivid  imagination,  an  animated  man- 
ner, and  a  mental  force  and  freshness  that  charms  whilst  it  con- 
vinces and  pleases  whilst  it  instructs.  Youthful  in  appearance, 
he  has  the  scholastic  attainments  of  a  veteran.  Never  were  the 
rich  stores  of  knowledge  brought  to  tell  with  such  overwhelming 
power  upon  the  self-complacent  theories  of  infidelity.  Never  did 
Emerson's  vaunted  declaration  that  "  Christian  faith  had  better 
take  an  inventory  of  its  effects,  since  it  was  nearly  over  with  it," 
appear  so  contemptible,  for  never  seemed  Zion's  bulwarks  so  im- 
pregnable. Even  the  infidel  press  was  awed  into  silence,  if  not 
brought  into  submission. 


Sjnodical  Visits  to  Presidents  of  the  United  States. 


During  the  meeting  of  our  Synods  of  Maryland  in  Washington, 
it  is  our  custom  to  wait  upon  the  President  in  a  body.  Our  in- 
tention is  communicated  to  him,  and  he  appoints  a  time  to  re- 
ceive us. 

I  remember  our  visits  to  Presidents  Pearce,  Polk,  Buchanan, 
Johnson  and  Grant.  I  believe  that  the  General  Synod  once  paid 
their  respects  to  President  Lincoln,  but  I  was  not  present. 

It  so  happened  that  I  was  either  President  of  our  Synod,  or  at 
least,  was  appointed  to  address  him  whenever  we  visited  him,  and 
I  always  emphasized  ourselves  as  representatives  of  that  numer- 
ous and  influential  class  of  our  fellow-citizens,  the  Germans,  well 
knowing  that  his  Excellency  would  seize  the  occasion  to  glorify 
the  Germans  in  his  reply,  for  our  addresses  were  always  fully  re- 
ported, and  it  pleased  them  to  hear  themselves  well  spoken  of  by 
the  President,  and,  perhaps,  it  was  no  disadvantage  to  himself. 

We  once  paid  our  respects  to  General  Grant  before  his  election, 
and  while  he  was  General  in  chief  of  the  Army,  but  after  his 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LL'TIIERAN    MINISTRY.  469 

noinination,  I  said  to  him,  that  for  myself  I  hoped  that  the  next 
time  the  Synod  of  Maryland  would  visit  him  we  would  find  him 
in  a  larger  and  whiter  house  than  he  then  occupied,  for  he  lived 
in  a  brick  front.  The  only  reply  he  made  was,  that  "  he  was  per- 
fectly satisfied  with  his  present  position."  Of  our  Gemiayi  char- 
acter, which  I  prominently  mentioned,  he  said  not  a  word.  Af- 
ter his  election  we  visited  him  again,  and  then  I  reminded  him  of 
what  I  had  said  on  our  previous  visit  about  the  larger  and  the 
whiter  house,  and  brought  in  the  Germans  again,  extolling  their 
thrift,  energy  and  patriotism  during  the  war,  and  thought  I  would 
bring  him  out  on  that  subject,  but  he  made  no  reply  of  any  kind, 
and  all  that  he  said  was,  "  Gentlemen,  I  am  glad  to  see  you,"  and 
shaking  his  hand  the  interview  was  over  in  five  minutes.  He 
wouldn't  praise  the  Germans. 

At  our  last  meeting  we  did  not  wait  on  President  Hayes.  He 
had  not  time  to  receive  us ;  but  I  am  sure  he  would  speak  in  high 
terms  of  the  Germans. 


MINISTERS'  SUMMER  VACATIONS. 


It  is  only  within  the  last  twenty-five  years  that  our  ministers 
asked  for  or  were  allowed  a  summer  vacation,  which  has  now 
become  so  common,  and,  I  think,  eminently  proper. 

Fifty  years  ago,  and  even  much  later,  it  never  occurred  to  them 
to  take  a  month's  recreation  as  a  matter  of  course ;  first,  very  few 
could  afford  to  go  to  the  "springs,"  or  the  seashore,  or  the  moun- 
tains, and  perhaps  very  few  had  relations  to  visit  who  were  able 
to  keep  them  and  the  madam  and  a  couple  or  half  a  dozen  of 
juveniles  of  all  ages  and  temperaments;  secondly,  their  people 
were  opposed  to  their  long  absence,  and  thought  that  ministers 
were  in  no  more  need  of  holiday  than  themselves,  which  was  true 
of  many  ;  and,  thirdly,  facilities  of  travel  and  proximity  of  sea- 
shore enjoyments,  and  the  renovating  influence  of  mountain  air, 
were  not  so  attainable,  nor  fashionable,  nor  so  necessary  as  at 
present. 

I  remember  long  ago,  that  one  summer  I  proposed  to  be  absent 
from  my  church  two  consecutive  Sundays.  There  was  decided 
30 


470  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

.opposition  to  it,  and  not  because  my  Council  did  not  think  I  needed 
recreation,  but  it  was  true  I  did  not  need  it — in  those  remote 
days  we  did  not  need  many  things  without  which  we  could  not 
now  get  along— but  because  they  knew  I  would  be  compelled  to 
invite  to  my  pulpit  Rev.  Mr.  Sartorius,  who  kept  a  clothing  store 
round  the  corner,  but  who  gratified  himself  and  amused  his 
hearers  by  trying  to  preach  on  Sunday,  for  unemployed  educated 
ministers  were  not  so  numerous  as  at  present — and  because,  as  my 
church  was  a  struggling  enterprise,  some  stranger  would  drop  in 
to  hear  me  and  would  be  disappointed  at  my  absence  ;  and,  thirdly, 
because  they  did  not  want  to  hear  any  other  preacher  (this  was 
a  slv  appeal  to  my  young  vanity,  but  after  a  few  years  they  were 
glad  enough  to  have  an  occasional  change,  and  so  was  I) ;  and, 
fourthly,  who  would  bury  the  dead,  if  any  should  die  in  my 
absence,  and  marry  the  living,  if  any  should  venture  upon  that 
enterprise  (and  just  here  let  me  mention  that  I  seldom  left  home 
without  the  occasion  of  a  death  or  of  a  wedding,  much  to  my  regret 
on  account  of  both)  !  The  result  was  that  for  the  first  ten  or 
fifteen  years  of  my  ministry  I  was  not  out  of  my  pulpit  for  two 
consecutive  Sundays  more  than  once  or  twice.  It  was  not  neces- 
sary for  my  health  that  I  should  go  ;  I  could  not  afford  to  make 
long  journeys  or  "  recreate  "  at  the  springs  ;  it  was  not  customary 
for  ministers  to  be  absent  during  the  summer. 

The  idea  of  closing  the  church  for  a  month  to  give  the  pastor 
and  the  people  a  holiday  never  entered  the  minds  of  the  people, 
and  would  have  been  deemed  preposterous  if  it  had  been  suggested, 
and  I  think  they  were  right.  It  is  true  that  at  present  many  of 
our  city  families  leave  town,  and  the  summer  congregations  are 
rather  thin,  and  the  night  service  is  usually  intermitted,  but  a 
sufficient  number  remain  at  home  to  be  preached  to  by  somebody, 
even  if  the  pastor  be  absent — and  people  get  sick  and  some  die. 
I  have  known  men  who  have  gone  to  the  residences  of  half  a 
dozen  ministers  to  secure  their  services  for  a  funeral,  but  they 
were  all  gone. 

No  slight  difficulty  is  sometimes  encountered  by  the  absentees 
in  securing  substitutes.  So  many  other  pastors  are  also  absent, 
and  those  ministers  not  pastors,  if  there  are  any  about,  are  already 
engaged  by  absentees,  so  that  it  is  hard  to  have  the  pulpit  sup- 
plied. The  result  is  that  they  are  often  compelled  to  invite  men 
to  preach  who  are  not  desired  by  the  congregation.     The  supply- 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  471 

ing  is  sometimes  left  to  the  Clmrch  Council,  who  have  little  time 
or  inclination  to  attend  to  such  business.  They  are  tempted  to 
put  it  off  until  the  end  of  the  week,  and  then  you  hear  of  them 
running  all  around  tow'n  hunting  a  preacher,  and  ready  to  accept 
of  almost  any  one  who  has  the  prefix  Rev.  to  his  name.  The  peo- 
ple are  aware  of  this,  and  hence  many  of  them  do  not  go  to  church 
as  long  as  the  pastor  is  absent. 

But  in  the  olden  time  comparatively  few  of  our  people  left  home 
during  the  heated  term  ;  but  now,  since  many  have  grown  rich, 
and  influential,  and  fashionable,  they  follow  the  crowd.  It  is  this 
class  particularly  who  think  that  the  over-worked  minister  should 
also  have  a  vacation,  which  is  all  right,  but  not  because  these 
people  think  so.  On  the  jjart  of  many  of  them  it  is  mere  selfish- 
ness^ they  are  absent  themselves,  and  for  that  reason  they  think 
that  the  minister  might  as  well  be. 

And  this  leads  me  to  remark  that  it  is  wonderful  how  few  com- 
paratively of  these  summer  sojourners  at  the  springs  or  the  sea- 
shore attend  church  on  Sundays.  I  live  in  a  village  where  all 
summer  there  are  over  one  hundred  summer  boarders ;  and,  al- 
though many  of  them  are  regular  and  devout  attendants  at  church 
when  at  home,  they  seldom  attend  the  services  of  our  village 
churches.  They  prefer  staying  at  home  on  Sundays,  although  they 
are  within  three  minutes'  walk  of  a  house  of  worship.  They 
seem  to  give  their  religion  a  holiday  as  w^ell  as  themselves.  I 
once  asked  a  very  earnest  Lutheran  lady,  who  never  misses  church 
at  home,  "  Why  do  you  not  come  to  our  church  here  ?  We  belong 
to  the  same  Synod  that  your  minister  does,  we  have  the  same  lit- 
urgical service,  we  have  very  good  preaching,  and  yet  you  have 
not  been  in  our  church  but  once  the  whole  summer.  Does  not 
every  toll  of  the  church-bell  reprove  your  carelessness  ?"  "  Oh," 
said  she,  "  I  came  to  the  country  to  enjoy  the  fresh  air  ;  I  want 
holiday;  it  is  not  worth  while  to  dress  to  go  to  church  here."  I 
told  her  I  would  report  her  to  the  minister,  but  she  begged  me 
not  to  say  anything  about  it  to  the  "  dear,  good  man."  But  the 
next  Sunday  she  was  in  church. 

Taking  a  trip  to  Europe  for  pleasure  was  quite  unknown  among 
our  men  thirty  years  ago ;  but  since  that  time  many  of  our  cler- 
gymen have  enjoyed  the  agreeable  but  expensive  recreation,  and 
I  wish  that  more  of  them  had  the  time  and  the  means  to  do  it.  It  is 
now  comparatively  cheap  and  convenient,  but  still  not  many  of 


472  FIFTY    YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

our  men  can  afford  it.  I  know  a  few  of  our  men  who  have  bor- 
rowed the  money  to  enable  them  to  make  this  fashionable  voyage, 
but  they  have  not  paid  it  all  back  yet,  and  they  will  utter  many 
a  poignant  groan  before  it  is  all  repaid.  Few  of  them  have  such 
generous  church  members  as  one  of  our  city  ministers  in  Maryland 
has.  This  summer  (1877)  one  member  offered  to  pay  his  pastor's 
expenses  to  Europe,  but  the  liberal  offer  was  declined  on  account 
of  sickness  in  his  family. 

I  believe  it  is  usual  when  a  minister  goes  to  Europe  "  for  his 
health,"  that  his  salary  is  generously  continued  during  his  absence, 
and  that  kind  friends  contribute  liberally  towards  paying  his 
expenses.  I  know  this  has  been  the  case  with  some ;  but  I  am 
not  so  certain  whether  the  absent  minister  pays  out  of  his  own 
pocket  for  the  supply  of  his  pulpit.  When  I  went  abroad,  my 
salary  went  on,  but  I  paid  my  substitute.  A  few  friends  gave 
me  some  money,  and  several  sent  me  a  lot  of  smoked  tongues  and 
hams,  a  barrel  of  apples,  and  some  canned  oysters ;  for  I  went  on 
a  sailing  vessel,  and  not  a  steamer,  and  it  was  presumed  that  the 
ship's  fare  would  not  be  the  best.  Well,  one  Sunday  morning  I 
told  the  officers  of  the  ship,  who  took  their  meals  in  the  cabin, 
that  I  would  treat  them  at  dinner  upon  American  tongue  and  ham 
and  apple-dumplings.  The  captain  ordered  the  cook  to  get  my 
]irovisions  out  of  the  hold,  in  which  they  had  been  stored,  and 
boil  the  tongue  and  make  dough  for  the  dumplings,  and  we  would 
have  a  royal  Sunday  dinner  in  mid-ocean.  The  cook  soon 
returned  and  reported  that  neither  meat  nor  apples  could  be 
found,  that  the  barrels  were  empty,  and  we  would  have  no 
dumplings  for  dinner.  I  fear  that  the  cajotain  swore  at  somebody 
in  Piatt  Deutsch  for  stealing  his  passengers'  stores. 

Some  innocent  indulgences  are  now  allowed  to  ministers  which 
were  formerly  forbidden,  especially  in  the  more  densely  settled 
sections  of  the  church,  or  in  those  which  consider  themselves  the 
more  pious.  Fishing,  hunting,  skating,  croquet,  and  chess,  were 
forbidden,  and  only  enjoyed  by  stealth  by  ministers  who  loved 
these  sports.  I  know  one  man,  and  perhaps  there  are  others,  who 
was  mortally  offended  at  his  minister  for  playing  croquet ;  and 
yet  this  man  did  not  pay  his  debts,  and  was  otherwise  unsym- 
metrical  in  his  Christian  character.  At  the  present  time  all  these 
amusements  are  freely  participated  in  by  ministers,  and  they  are 
the  better  for  it ;  and  at  almost  every  watering  place  or  seaside 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  473 

resort  you  will  find  numbers  of  our  most  godly  preachers  enjoying 
some  sort  of  amusement.  It  seems  to  be  regarded  almost  as  a 
matter  of  course  that  these  men,  who  have  worked  hard  inces- 
santly for  eleven  months,  should  have  one  for  recreation.  More 
of  them  would  avail  themselves  of  this  recognized  right  if  they 
could  afford  the  money  necessary.  Is  this  an  evidence  of  advanc- 
ing civilization,  an  acknowledgment  of  a  right  long  withheld,  an 
increased  physical  deterioration  among  our  clerg}''  requiring 
cessation  from  protracted  labor,  or  a  compliance  with  the  loud 
call  of  fashion  and  conformity  to  the  world  without?  It  is 
growing  every  year,  and  it  is  not  uncommon  now  for  ministers  to 
make  provision  for  a  month's  summer  vacation  in  their  engage- 
ments with  their  churches.  It  is  all  perfectly  proper,  even  if 
they  do  not  take  advantage  of  it.  I  have  seen  grave  Presbyterian 
and  other  Doctors  of  Divinity,  even  at  so  public  a  place  as 
Saratoga  Springs,  rolling  ten-pins,  with  their  coats  off,  and 
enjoying  the  sport  hugely.  This  and  similar  recreations  have 
now  become  very  common,  which,  thirty  years  ago,  would  not 
have  been  sanctioned  by  public  opinion. 

This  matter  of  public  opinion  is  not  steadfast  or  reliable,  but 
very  changeable.  There  is  a  story  told  of  a  gentleman  who  was 
once  a  student  at  a  celebrated  Puritan  college.  He  visited  the 
college  some  years  after  leaving,  and  was  conducted  round  by  a 
professor  to  see  the  improvements  in  biiildings,  libraries,  appa- 
ratus, room  furniture,  and  other  conveniences  made  in  the 
meantime.  After  they  had  gone  the  rounds,  the  professor 
remarked,  "Now,  let  us  wind  up  with  a  game  of  ten-pins." 
"What!"  exclaimed  the  visitor.  "  Do  you  allow  ten-pins  here? 
Don't  you  know  that  I  was  dismissed  from  this  very  college  ten 
years  ago  for  playing  that  game?"  Times  have  changed  and  men 
with  them ;  and  thus  it  is  in  many  other   things. 

In  our  new  settlements,  where  the  churches  are  still  poor  and 
the  salaries  small,  our  ministers  cannot  afford  to  take  a  summer's 
holiday  if  expense  is  involved  ;  but  hunting  and  fishing  are  freely 
allowed  them,  for  they  are  universal  amusements,  and  I  presume 
contribute  considerably  to  the  support  of  the  family.  Every 
country  minister,  at  least,  ought  to  have  his  rifle  and  other 
implements,  of  which  he  should  make  generous  use. 

Camping  out  on  the  banks  of  some  lake  or  river  well  stocked 
with  fish  is  becoming  rathfer  common  among  ministers.     It  must 


474  FIFTY    YEAES    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MIITISTSY. 

be  an  enjoyable  recreation  where  the  company  is  good-natured,  in 
good  health  and  capable  of  some  endurance,  and  when  they  can 
persuade  themselves  that  they  are  really  comfortable,  which  it 
usually  requires  a  great  deal  of  philosophy  or  self-deception  to 
do.  It  is  hard  to  feel  comfortable  when  attacked  by  hordes  of 
mosquitoes  and  ticks — to  try  to  sleep  upon  a  bed  of  hemlock 
boughs — to  protect  yourself  against  rain  and  storms — to  do  your 
own  cooking  and  washing  and  wood-gathering,  and  all  this 
sometimes  during  a  soaking  shower— to  expose  yourself  to  malaria, 
and  to  endure  the  grumbling  of  some  dyspeptic  fellow-sufferer ; 
and  yet  amid  all  these  sylvan  inconveniences,  there  are  some  men 
who  tell  you  they  were  comfortable — very,  but  you  seldom  hear 
of  them  repeating  the  experiment.  One  summer's  camping  out 
seems  to  have  restored  their  impaired  health  to  a  degree  never 
requiring  a  second  cure. 


HISTORY   OF   FOREIGN    MISSIONS. 


It  was  about  forty-five  years  ago  that  Foreign  Missions  first 
engaged  the  attention  of  our  ministers  and  people.  Our  own 
children  were  stretching  out  their  hands  and  begging  for  bread, 
and  our  wants  at  home  first  received  our  attention  ;  and  yet  it  is 
true  that  the  very  idea  of  sending  missionaries  to  the  heathen 
was  suggested  in  connection  with  efforts  that  were  made  to  supply 
the  destitute  of  our  own  land  with  the  means  of  grace. 

The  first  time  the  subject  W'as  brought  directly  to  the  notice  of 
the  General  Synod  was  at  Baltimore,  when,  at  the  motion  of 
0.  A.  Morris,  Esq.,  a  committee  was  appointed  upon  this  subject, 
and  it  was  likewise  determined  to  hold  a  missionary  meeting  at 
the  next  meeting  of  the  General  Synod,  and  D.  Lintner  was 
appointed  to  preach  a  sermon  on  the  occasion. 

Before  this,  however,  several  of  the  District  Synods  had  organ- 
ized societies  in  reference  more  particularly  to  the  wants  of  feeble 
and  destitute  churches,  and  collections  were  also  taken  up  in  some 
of  the  parishes  on  behalf  of  the  heathen  and  forwarded  to  the 
American  Board. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  475 

At  the  eighth  convention  of  the  General  Synod,  held  in  York  in 
1835,  the  committee  appointed  at  the  former  meeting  presented 
a  valuable  report,  which  was  signed  by  Rev.  Drs.  J.  G.  Sehmucker 
and  D.  F.  SchaefFer.  It  enters  most  fully  into  the  discussion  of 
the  subject,  and  gives  the  causes  which  have  retarded  missionary 
efforts  in  the  church.  The  committee  propose  various  good  reso- 
lutions bearing  jnainly,  however,  on  the  cause  of  missions  at  home, 
and  "  as  soon  after  as  possible  for  the  churches  to  extend  their 
care  and  labors  to  the  conversion  of  the  heathen." 

It  was  also  moved  (by  J.  G.  M.)  that  a  missionary  convention 
of  Lutheran  ministers  be  held  in  October,  1835,  at  Mechanicsburg, 
Pennsylvania,  at  the  time  of  the  meeting  of  the  West  Pennsyl- 
vania Synod.  One  of  the  resolutions  of  the  series  was,  that  it  be 
recommended  to  the  District  Synods  to  give  at  their  ensuing 
meetings  an  expression  of  their  sentiments  and  feelings  respecting 
the  establishment  of  a  Foreign  Idission  by  the  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Church  in  the  United  States. 

A  pastoral  address  was  ordered  at  this  meeting  of  the  General 
Synod,  which  was  subsequently  issued,  and  is  signed  by  Eev.  Dr. 
Bachman  and  Rev.  J.  Z.  Senderling. 

The  convention  was  held  at  Mechanicsburg  in  the  autumn  of 
1835,  which  resulted  in  the  formation  of  the  Central  Missionary 
Society,  whose  object  was  "to  send  the  gospel  to  the  destitute 
portions  of  the  Lutheran  church  in  the  United  States  *  *  * 
and  ultimately  to  co-ojterate  in  sending  it  to  the  heathen.''  The 
obligation  of  the  church  to  send  the  gospel  abroad  was  every  day 
more  and  more  felt,  and  the  feasibility  of  the  work  was  discussed 
in  different  sections  of  the  church. 

Just  about  this  time,  when  our  members  seemed  gradually  to 
have  been  prepared  for  the  work,  letters  were  received  from 
Gutzlaff  in  China,  and  from  Rhenius  in  India,  appealing  to  the 
German  churches  in  this  country  for  assistance.  These  appeals 
made  a  deep  impression  upon  the  church.  The  conviction  was 
general  that  Rhenius  must  be  sustained. 

In  the  spring  of  1837,  the  General  Synod  met  at  Hagerstown, 
when  a  committee  was  appointed  on  this  absorbing  subject.  The 
report  which  was  made  was  signed  by  Rev.  Drs.  B.  Kurtz, 
H.  N.  Pohlman,  S.  S.  Sehmucker,  Rev.  B.  Keller,  and  L.  Medtart, 
Esq.  One  of  the  resolutions  recommended  was  that  we  regard 
the  calls   of  those  distinguished  and  devoted  German    laborers, 


476  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Rlieuius  and  GutzlafF  and  their  associates,  as  specially  provi- 
dential, *****  and  another  was,  that  the  plan  adopted 
(for  aiding  these  men)  ought  *****  ^o  embrace  in  it  a 
connection  xviih  the  Atnerican  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign 
Missions. 

A  convention  was  then  held  embracing  all  ministers  present  and 
not  merely  members  of  the  Synod  (May  30,  1837),  which  resulted 
in  the  organization  of  a  society  called  The  German  Foreign 
Missionary  Society,  and  designed  to  embrace  all  churches  and 
individuals  of  Germni  descent,  or  association,  in  the  United  States. 
The  title  German  F.  M.  S.  was  adopted,  as  the  co-operation  of  all 
the  churches  of  German  extraction  was  expected  and  desired.  A 
circular-letter  signed  by  J.  G.  Morris,  H.  L.  Baugher  and  A.  H. 
Lochman,  was  addressed  to  the  German  Reformed  and  other  Ger- 
man churches,  inviting  them  to  co-operate  with  us  in  this  work. 

At  this  meeting  it  was  also  resolved  to  sustain  Rhenius  and  his 
companions  in  the  Palamcotta  Mission,  provided  satisfactory- 
reasons  were  given  in  reference  to  the  wants  of  the  mission  and 
the  causes  of  its  separation  from  the  society  in  Germany,  and  the 
secretary  was  directed  to  open  an  immediate  correspondence  upon 
the  subject  with  the  missionaries  in  India,  and  also  the  London 
Missionary  Society. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  General  Synod  at  Chambersburg,  1839, 
several  young  men  were  mentioned  as  willing  to  go  to  India  as 
missionaries. 

No  response  to  the  appeal  previously  made  for  a  union  with  the 
German  churches  was  received.  Another  effort  was  made  on  mo- 
tion of  Dr.  B.  Kurtz  to  enlist  the  co-operation  of  the  German  Re- 
formed Church,  but  the  proposition  was  declined.  The  title  of 
the  society  was  then  changed  by  dropping  the  word  German  at 
the  beginning. 

About  this  time  intelligence  of  the  death  of  Rhenius  was  re- 
ceived, but  our  society  still  resolved  to  sustain  his  associates,  but 
when  we  learned  that  these  men  had  renewed  their  connection 
with  the  English  Church  Missionary  Society  our  aid  was  with- 
drawn. 

In  the  spring  of  1840,  Rev.  C.  F.  Heyer  was  appointed  mission- 
ary. After  consultation  with  the  American  Board,  it  was  deter- 
mined that  our  operations  should  be  directed  to  the  Telegu  country 
in  Southern  India.     At  a  meeting  of  the  society  in  May,  1841,  it 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  477 

was  resolved  to  transact  its  business  through  the  American  Board, 
and  a  phm  of  union  was  adopted.  This  measure  was  strongly- 
opposed,  and  the  proposed  union  was  never  consummated.  (See 
my  report  to  General  Synod,  Baltimore,  1843.)  Mr.  Heyer  ex- 
pecting that  it  would  be,  resigned  his  appointment,  upon  which 
the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania,  which  had  maintained  its  distinct 
missionary  organization,  resolved  to  appoint  him.  The  South 
Carolina  Synod  also  preferred  independent  action,  and  stood  by 
that  of  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Heyer  having  received  his  instruc- 
tions at  a  public  meeting  in  Philadelphia,  sailed  from  Boston 
October  14th,  1841,  and  arrived  in  India  in  the  ensuing  spring. 
He  soon  planted  a  mission  at  Guntoor,  and  thus  the  oldest  Synod 
of  our  Church  in  this  country  enjoys  the  distinction  of  having 
sent  the  first  Lutheran  missionary  from  the  United  States  among 
the  heathen. 

The  General  Society,  however,  did  not  relax  its  efforts,  although 
it  is  true  that  the  ardor  of  many  cooled. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  society  at  Baltimore  in  1843,  the  execu- 
tive committee  was  instructed  to  send  a  missionary  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible, and,  if  expedient,  in  co-operation  with  the  society  of  the 
Synod  of  Pennsylvania. 

In  obedience  to  these  instructions,  Eev.  Walter  Gunn,  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  was  appointed  May  25th,  1843,  with  direc- 
tions to  proceed  to  Southern  India  to  labor  among  the  Telegu 
in  conjunciion  with  Heyer,  provided  an  arrangement  to  that 
eflfect  could  be  made  with  the  Society  of  the  Pennsylvania  Synod. 
Such  an  arrangement  was  made,  and  continued  until  the  entire 
control  of  the  mission  was  transferred  by  the  Pennsylvania  Synod 
to  the  General  Society. 

The  missionary  was  publicly  set  apart  to  the  work  in  Philadel- 
phia October  24th,  1843.  I,  as  corresponding  secretary,  read  to 
him  the  instructions  of  the  committee,  and  Dr.  B.  Kurtz  gave  the 
charge.  He  sailed  from  Boston  on  November  18th,  with  his  wife, 
and  on  June  18th,  1844,  he  arrived  at  Guntoor.  He  immediately 
entered  upon  his  duties.  Some  time  after  Mr.  Heyer  received  per- 
mission to  return  home.  The  whole  superintendence  and  govern- 
ment of  the  mission  was  then  transferred  to  the  General  Society, 
the  Pennsylvania  Synod  expressing  a  willingness  to  continue  its 
contributions  to  its  support. 

In  1847   Dr.  Heyer,  on  the  resuscitation  of  his  health,  again 


478  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

offered  his  services  for  the  work,  which  were  gladly  accepted.  He 
embarked  for  India  on  December  4th. 

During  this  year  (1848)  the  committee  appointed  Rev.  J.  C. 
Martz  as  missionary,  who  arrived  on  the  ground  sometime  in  1849. 

In  1850  the  committee  received  into  their  service  Rev.  C.  W. 
Groening  of  the  North  German  Missionary  Society,  and  subse- 
quently accepted  from  the  same  society  the  offer  of  their  mission 
at  Rajahmundry,  with  the  buildings  and  two  missionaries  laboring 
there.  Rev.  Messrs.  Valette  and  Heise  were,  therefore,  added  to 
the  laborers  under  the  care  of  our  society.  The  following  year  Mr. 
Valette  was  permitted  to  return  to  Germany,  and  also  the  succeed- 
ing year  Mr.  Martz  to  the  United  States.  The  mission,  however, 
soon  received  a  reinforcement  in  the  Rev.  Messrs.  W.  J.  Cutter  of 
Ohio,  and  W.  E.  Snyder  of  New  York,  who  sailed  with  their 
wives  August  11th,  1851,  and  reached  India  the  beginning  of 
next  year. 

In  the  month  of  January,  1853,  the  first  meeting  of  the  Evan- 
gelical Lutheran  Synod  of  India  was  held  at  Guntoor.  The 
following  ordained  missionaries  were  present,  viz.,  Rev.  C.  F.  Heyer 
from  the  Palnaud,  Rev.  A.  F.  Heise  and  Rev.  W.  J.  Cutter  from 
Rajahmundry,  and  Rev.  C.  W.  Groening  and  Rev.  AV.  E.  Snyder 
from  Guntoor.  Its  first  officers  were  Rev.  C.  F.  Heyer,  President, 
and  Rev.  W.  E.  Snyder,  Secretary.  A  committee  appointed  to 
give  an  historical  and  statistical  relation  of  the  mission  stations 
reported  as  follows : 

Guntoor.  Began  1842  ;  missionaries  in  charge  from  1842-1846, 
C.  F.  Heyer  ;  from  1846-1851,  W.  Gunn  and  G.  Martz  ;  at  present, 
0.  W.  Groening  and  W.  E.  Snyder;  one  congregation;  baptisms 
from  1842-46,  thirty-two  ;  to  '51,  twenty-four  ;  to  '52,  twenty-two  ; 
total,  seventy-eight;  communicants,  sixteen;  marriages,  eight; 
deaths,  twelve  ;  day  schools,  six  ;  scholars,  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
five  ;  boarding  school,  one  ;  scholars,  five  ;  teachers,  nine  ;  expenses 
last  year  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  forty-six  rupees. 

Hajahmundry .  Began  1845 ;  missionaries  in  charge  from 
1845-50,  Valette  ;  from  1846-49,  C.  W.  Groening ;  from  1846-52, 
A.  F.  Heise ;  1852,  W.  J.  Cutter ;  one  congregation,  thirteen 
baptisms,  ten  communicants,  eight  day  schools,  two  hundred 
and  twenty  scholars,  eight  teachers ;  expenses  last  year,  eight 
hundred  rupees. 

Palnaud.     Began  1849  ;  missionary,  C.  F.  Heyer ;  five  congre- 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  470 

gations,  two  hundred  and  forty-three  baptisms,  forty-four 
communicants,  five  marriages,  one  death,  two  expulsions,  six 
day  schools,  seventy-four  scholars;  one  boarding  school,  twenty- 
one  scholars ;  seven  teachers ;  expenses  last  year,  eight  hundred 
and  sixty  rupees. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Foreign  Missionary  Society  at  Reading, 
in  1857,  the  following  missionaries  were  reported  as  having  left 
the  mission  field  on  account  of  impaired  health.  Rev.  A.  F.  Heise, 
Rev.  W.  E.  Snyder  and  Rev.  W.  J.  Cutter.  In  the  spring  of  1857, 
Rev.  C.  F.  Heyer  also  took  his  departure,  followed  in  1858  by 
the  Rev.  C.  W.  Groening,  who  was  permitted,  after  twelve  years 
of  active  labor,  to  return  with  his  family  to  Germany  for  needed 
rest  and  change. 

In  1857  Rev.  A.  F.  Heise  returned  again  to  his  post  at 
Rajahmundry. 

On  the  21st  of  November,  1857,  Rev.  Adam  Long,  in  company 
with  AV.  E.  Synder  and  Rev.  E.  Unangst,  and  their  wives,  sailed 
for  India,  and  entered  upon  their  mission  work  April  1st,  1858. 

In  1861  Rev.  C.  W.  Groening  returned  again  to  India,  and 
remained  until  September,  1865,  when  he  was  obliged  on  account 
of  impaired  health  to  leave  the  mission  and  return  to  Germany. 

In  1859  the  mission  in  India  sustained  a  sore  bereavement  in 
the  death  of  Rev.  W.  E.  Snyder. 

On  the  12th  of  March,  1862,  Rev.  A.  F.  Heise,  completely  broken 
down  by  work  and  sickness,  withdrew  from  the  mission  and  re- 
turned to  Germany. 

On  the  5th  of  March,  1866,  Rev.  Adam  Long  departed  this  life 
at  Rajahmundry,  India.  His  widow  returned  to  America  on  the 
4th  of  May,  1867. 

In  1871  Rev.  E.  Unangst,  accompanied  by  his  family,  left  In- 
dia for  America. 

On  January  6th,  1872,  Rev.  E.  Unangst,  accompanied  by  Rev. 
J.  H.  Harpster  of  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Gettysburg,  set 
sail  for  India,  leaving  his  family  in  America. 

On  the  7th  of  December,  1872,  Rev.  L.  L.  Uhl  of  Wittenberg 
College,  accompanied  by  his  wife,  took  their  departure  for  India. 
They  were  followed  in  September,  1874,  by  Rev.  A.  D.  Rowe  and 
wife — Mr.  Rowe  being  known  as  the  Children's  Missionary. 

On  the  22d  of  March,  1876,  Rev.  J.  H.  Harpster,  on  account  of 
throat  disease,  left  India  for  America. 


480  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

On  the  second  Sabbath  of  1877,  two  native  pastors,  the  Revs. 
B.  John  and  M.  Nathaniel,  were  solemnly  ordained  to  the  work  of 
the  gospel  ministry. 

The  statistics  of  the  field  in  India  at  present  (1877)  are  as 
follows:  Communicants,  1,263;  backsliders,  103;  baptisms  since 
the  commencement  of  the  mission,  thirty-five  years  ago,  4,084  ; 
candidates  for  baptism,  320 ;  villages  where  native  christians  re- 
side, 111;  school  or  prayer  houses,  33;  chapel,  1;  high  school, 
1,  boarders,  51 ;  caste  girls  schools,  3  ;  pupils,  101 ;  ordinary  mis- 
sion schools,  29  ;  pupils,  429.  The  entire  working  force  of  this 
field  embraces  five  ordained  ministers,  of  whom  two  are  native  pas- 
tors ;  catechists,  3  ;  itinerant  teachers,  29 ;  Bible  colporteurs,  2  ; 
tract  colporteurs,  2 ;  female  missionaries,  2 ;  together  exclusive  of 
the  High  School  at  Guntoor.  The  expense  of  this  agency  for  the 
last  two  years  has  amounted  to  $20,847.16. 

The  history  of  the  African  Mission  is  as  follows :  The  General 
Synod  having  resolved  at  its  session  in  Pittsburg  in  1859  to  es- 
tablish a  mission  in  the  territory  of  Liberia,  Rev.  Morris  OflScer 
and  Rev.  Mr.  Heigerd  set  sail  from  Baltimore  on  the  22d  day  of 
February,  1860,  and  reached  the  Liberian  coast  on  the  5th  day  of 
April  following.  A  site  for  a  mission  was  selected  on  St.  Paul's 
River,  about  thirty  miles  inland  from  Monrovia.  A  mission  farm 
of  one  hundred  acres  was  received  from  the  Liberian  government, 
upon  which  the  mission  buildings  were  erected.  Two  hundred 
acres  were  also  given  as  a  reservation.  A  mission  school  of  forty 
children  was  at  once  organized,  these  children  having  been  se- 
lected from  a  captured  slaver,  in  the  latter  part  of  August,  1860. 
On  the  17th  of  February,  1861,  a  small  church  was  organized. 
In  1861  Rev.  Officer  left  the  mission  in  care  of  Rev.  Heigerd.  In 
1864  Rev.  Heigerd  returned  to  America,  having  been  preceded 
by  his  wife,  who,  on  account  of  ill  health,  was  obliged  to  abandon 
the  work. 

In  1863  the  mission  was  reinforced  by  the  arrival  of  Rev.  J. 
Kistler  and  wife.  In  1864  Rev.  J.  M.  Rice  and  wife  were  com- 
naissioned  as  missionaries  to  Africa,  but  after  a  sojourn  of  seven 
months  only,  returned  to  their  native  land  July  26th,  1865. 

In  September,  1866,  Mrs.  Kistler,  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  J.  Kis- 
tler, died  at  the  Muhlenburg  mission.  This  was  followed  soon  after 
by  the  departure  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Kistler  from  Africa  and  his 
return  to  America  in  the  latter  part  of  the  month  of  April,  1867. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  481 

Both  Mr.  Rice  and  Mr.  Kistler  were  compelled  to  leave  the  mission 
on  account  of  their  impaired  health.  The  mission  being  left  thus 
practically  without  a  head,  its  affairs  were  entrusted  temporarily 
to  a  lay-brother,  by  name  David  Kelly. 

On  the  25th  of  January,  1869,  Rev.  S.  P.  Carnell  sailed  for 
Africa,  reaching  the  mission  March  14th,  1869. 

Brother  Carnell's  missionary  life  was  of  short  duration;  he 
soon  fell  a  victim  to  over-work  and  undue  exposure. 

On  the  26th  of  May,  1873,  Rev.  J.  G.  Breininger  and  wife 
started  to  reinforce  the  African  mission.  Their  work  was  of  short 
duration,  Mr.  Breininger  being  soon  deprived  of  his  companion 
by  death,  and  he  himself  returning  to  this  country  in  1874.  His 
place,  however,  was  speedily  supplied  by  the  Rev.  David  A.  Day, 
a  graduate  of  the  Theological  Department  at  Selinsgrove,  Pa.  In 
September,  1875,  Rev.  B.  B.  Collins  and  wife  embarked  for  Africa, 
where  they  arrived  in  November  following.  But  scarcely  had  one 
month  passed  over  them  when  Mr.  Collins  was  smitten  down  by 
fever,  which  greatly  prostrated  him.  His  wife,  soon  after,  was 
taken  down  by  the  same  disease,  and  her  life  was  greatly  endan- 
gered. A  return  home  was  imperatively  demanded.  They  re- 
embarked  for  America  in  April,  being  accompanied  also  by  Mr. 
Day,  whose  wife,  for  special  reasons,  had  previously  sailed  for 
home.  Mr.  Collins'  health  rapidly  improved,  while  his  devoted 
wife,  after  having  been  one  week  at  sea,  died,  and  was  buried  in 
mid-ocean.  The  missionaries  landed  at  New  York  in  June,  1876. 
In  the  fall  of  the  same  year,  Rev.  David  A.  Day  and  wife  again 
returned  to  Africa,  where,  at  this  present  writing,  they  are  still 
laboring.  Truly  this  mission  has  been  one  of  arduous  toil  and 
heroic  sacrifices.     Its  present  condition  is  hopeful  and  prosperous. 

For  the  first  eighteen  years  the  society  received  $38,220.60,  and 
expended  $38,021.03,  and  in  the  last  twenty-two  years  the  ex- 
penses of  our  foreign  missions  have  been  very  large. 

Mr.  Gunn  died  after  a  residence  of  seven  years  in  India  on 
July  5th,  1851,  aged  thirty-seven. 

The  mission  in  India  was  composed  of  Rev.  C.  F.  Heyer, 
M.  D.,  Rev.  W.  J.  Cutter  and  his  wife,  Rev.  W.  E.  Snyder  and 
his  wife,  with  the  widow  Gunn,  from  the  United  States ;  Rev. 
Messrs.  Groening  and  wife,  and  Rev.  A.  F.  Heise  from  Germany, 
and  at  present  Rev.  Messrs  Unangst  and  Rowe  from  the  United 
States. 


482  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

The  General  Council  also  supports  a  mission  in  India,  witli  Eev. 
H.  C.  Schmidt  at  the  head  of  it.  His  field  of  labor  is  Rajah- 
mundrv. 


IGNORANCE  CONCERNING  OUR  CHURCH. 


Although  the  Lutheran  church  is  the  largest  protestant 
communion  in  the  world,  and  her  contributions  to  theological 
science  vastly  more  profound,  scholarly  and  useful  than  those  of 
any  other — although  her  great  authors  are  recognized  the  world 
over  as  superior  to  all  others,  and  her  universities  are  frequented 
by  students  from  all  Christian  countries — although  even  in  the 
United  States  we  have  upwards  of  two  thousand  ministers  and 
numerous  colleges,  theological  seminaries  and  church  journals,  yet 
there  exists  even  among  some  otherwise  intelligent  persons  a 
pitiable  ignorance  of  our  condition,  character  and  work. 

This  is  owing  in  part  to  the  prevalence  of  the  German  language 
which  was  formerly  so  extensively  employed,  but  more  particularly, 
I  think,  to  the  undemonstrative  character  of  our  ministers  and 
people.  We  have  not  sought  notoriety  as  some  others  have — we 
have  not,  until  recently,  mingled  much  with  other  people  in  what 
are  called  the  general  benevolent  enterprises  of  the  day — we  have 
not  coveted  platform  glory,  and  hence  neither  the  names  of  our 
church  and  of  our  principal  ministers  have  flourished  in  the 
religious  papers. 

But  there  are  other  and  more  proximate  reasons  for  this  igno- 
rance concerning  us.  Even  otherwise  well  instructed  men  have 
not  regarded  a  knowledge  of  church  history  as  an  important  part 
of  their  education,  and  hence  some  of  them  make  monstrous 
blunders  when  they  write  about  us. 

Some  of  their  people  affect  a  contempt  for  the  "  Dutch  "  as  they 
call  us — they  look  upon  our  ministers  and  people  as  uncultured 
and  irreligious,  and  hence  in  places  where  our  people  are  not 
numerous  and  not  socially  influential  we  are  not  treated  very 
respectfully. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  483 

When  I  was  a  student  in  Princeton  Seminary,  in  182G,  a  very 
zealous  young  man  proposed  in  the  missionary  meeting  that 
special  efforts  be  made  for  the  conversion  of  both  ministers  and 
people  among  the  Germans  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania — he  said 
that  no  section  of  the  country  stood  in  greater  need  of  evangeli- 
zation than  that,  and  plead  lustily  for  some  of  the  students  to  offer 
themselves  as  Home  Missionaries  for  that  benighted  region. 

I  admitted  that  there  was  probably  room  for  improvement,  but 
held  that  the  sending  of  English  Presbyterian  preachers,  who 
could  not  speak  a  word  of  German,  was  of  questionable  utility, 
to  put  it  in  the  mildest  terms. 

He  looked  upon  that  people  precisely  as  be  did  upon  the  heathen, 
among  whom  it  was  eminently  proper  to  send  the  gospel,  and  that 
it  would  be  no  interference  with  the  rights  of  others  who  had  pre- 
occupied the  ground.  He  was  supremely  ignorant  of  the  character, 
wants  and  circumstances  of  the  people,  but  not  more  so  than  many 
other  persons  since  that  day. 

When  Dr.  Reynolds  lived  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  as  President  of  the 
college,  he  was  most  painfully  mortified  at  the  want  of  courtesy 
shown  him  by  the  Presbyterian  and  other  ministers  of  that  city. 
Probably  a  better  scholar  than  any  of  them,  he  felt  himself  entitled 
to  some  social  attention,  but  he  did  not  receive  it,  and  it  was  because 
he  was  associated  with  an  institution  and  with  men  who  were 
"Dutch,"  and  of  course  who  could  not  be  respectable.  Poor 
Pieynolds  was  also  grievously  disappointed  in  another  expectation. 
He  went  out  there  under  the  full  conviction  that  he  could  persuade 
the  Ohio  Synod  to  join  the  General  Synod,  but  he  encountered 
such  fierce  opposition  that  he  gave  up  the  idea  in  despair. 

Their  opposition  to  his  measure  was  transferred  to  his  person, 
and  he  soon  became  so  unpopular  that  he  was  compelled  to  resign. 
He  could  not  speak  German,  and  the  majority  did  not  want 
"  einen  Irischen,"  as  they  called  him,  to  be  at  the  head  of  their 
college.  He  paid  them  back  by  calling  them  "  Black  Dutch,"  and 
left  in  disgust. 

This  ignorance  of  our  denominational  peculiarities  has  been  the 
occasion  of  many  ludicrous  blunders.  Even  in  such  a  respectable 
paper  as  the  New  York  Observer  we  occasionally  find  ourselves 
confounded  with  the  German  Reformed,  betraying  a  pitiable 
unacquaintance  with  church  history.  The  church  item  editor  of 
that   paper  does   not  seem   to  be  familiar   with   denominational 


481  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

distinctions,  and  hence  nearly  every  week  we  see  the  Dutch 
Reformed  church  and  the  German  Reformed  church  incongruously 
intermingled,  and  both  made  to  pass  for  one.  No  Lutheran  editor 
would  ever  make  such  unpardonable  blunders.  Our  men  are  too 
well  educated  to  be  guilty  of  such  nonsense. 

One  of  our  ministers  was  once  asked  whether  the  "  Lutherans 
were  not  a  branch  of  the  Methodists?" 

A  Methodist  minister  once  told  me  he  had  recently  read  a  life 
of  Martin  Luther,  of  whom  he  had  known  nothing  before,  but  he 
now  looked  upon  him  as  a  rather  remarkable  man. 

It  is  surprising  with  what  pertinacity  even  some  intelligent  men 
will  reiterate  the  charge  that  Lutherans  believe  in  consub- 
stantiation,  which  has  been  shown  to  be  false  over  one  hundred 
times,  even  in  our  own  country,  but  still  every  now  and  then  the 
same  erroneous  statement  is  made. 

But  of  late  years  people  intelligent  in  general  church  affairs 
have  become  better  acquainted  with  us  as  a  christian  communion. 
They  often  see  our  name  mentioned  in  their  church  papers,  and 
sometimes,  too,  not  in  the  most  favorable  light.  They  also  hear 
of  the  literary  or  theological  productions  of  some  of  our  scholars, 
and  respect  them.  I  now,  of  course,  speak  of  those  people  who 
live  in  places  not  settled  by  Lutherans,  and  where  there  is  no  Lu- 
theran Church,  and  yet  I  once  knew  a  Presbyterian  minister  \vho 
was  pastor  in  one  of  the  largest  inland  towns  of  Pennsylvania,  in 
which  there  were  four  large  Lutheran  Churches,  who  reported  to 
his  Presbytery  that  he  lived  in  a  German  town,  but  he  had  no 
doubt  that  before  long  many  of  the  people  would  join  his  church  ! 
Evidently  he  did  not  know  what  the  Lutherans  were ! 

But  of  what  advantage  is  it  to  be  widely  known  ?  AVe  have 
our  own  peculiar  field  to  cultivate,  and  should  have  no  ambitious 
aspirings  after' notoriety.  While  many  of  our  men  at  the  present 
day  are  known  by  name  to  everybody,  and  highly  respected,  too, 
let  the  rest  of  us  be  content  to  work  on  in  humble  retirement. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  485 


THE    MARYLAND  SYNOI3  QUESTION 


This  name  was  given  to  a  subject  which  some  years  ago  excited 
general  interest,  and  which  is  deemed  of  sufficient  imi:>ortance  to 
give  it  a  place  in  my  book.  It  will  be  observed  that  it  involves 
deep  principle  as  well  as  momentous  practice,  and  was  the  occa- 
sion of  leading  to  a  result  mutually  satisfactory.  I  am  indebted 
to  Dr.  Diehl  for  this  important  paper. 

In  the  spring  of  1853,  Rev.  J.  Winter  applied  to  Rev.  J.  A. 
Seiss,  President  of  the  Maryland  Synod,  for  an  honorable  dismis- 
sion from  the  Synod  without  intending  to  apply  to  any  other  Synod 
or  any  other  ecclosiastical  body  for  admission. 

At  the  next  annual  meeting  of  the  Synod,  October  21st,  1853, 
the  President,  Mr.  Seiss,  stated  his  action  in  his  report,  thus : 

"  During  the  sitting  of  the  General  Synod  at  Winchester,  Va., 
I  received  a  letter  from  Rev.  John  Winter,  requesting  of  me  '  a 
letter  of  honorable  dismission  '  from  the  Synod  of  Maryland,  and 
stating  that  he  was  'compelled  to  this  by  feelings  of  self-respect.' 
I  immediately  wrote  to  him  urging  him  to  reconsider  and  with- 
draw his  application.  His  reply  was,  that  'after  cool  and  calm 
reflection,'  he  found  he  could  come  to  no  other  conclusion,  and  in- 
sisted upon  compliance  with  his  request.  I  accordingly  gave  him 
a  certificate  of  honorable  dismission.  But  as  Mr.  Winter  has  put 
his  present  withdrawal  upon  the  ground  of  improper  treatment 
from  a  member  of  this  body,  whom  he  names  in  his  communica- 
tion, it  might  be  well  to  have  this  correspondence  referred  to  a 
committee  to  rejjort  thereon  "to  the  ministerium,  and  thus  furnish 
an  opportunity  for  a  proper  investigation  of  the  charges  alleged. 
A  committee  consisting  of  Rev.  G.  Diehl,  Dr.  H.  L.  Baugher  and 
Rev.  J.  Heck  was  appointed  to  report  on  the  President's  report. 
On  the  item  referring  to  the  dismission  of  Rev.  J  Winter,  they 
proposed  the  following,  which  was  referred  to  the  ministerium : 

"  That  the  action  of  the  President  in  giving  an  honorable  dis- 
mission to  Rev.  J.  Winter,  cannot  be  considered  as  final,  inasmuch 
as  an  honorable  dismission  cannot  constitutionally  be  given  by  its 
l^residing  officer  to  a  member  who  ranains  within  the  bounds  of  the 
31 


486  FIFTY   YEABS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Synod.  The  committee  therefore  propose  the  following  reso- 
lution : 

Resolved,  That  the  Synod  do  not  confirm  the  dismission  given  to 
Rev.  J.  Winter,  which  it  is  understood  is  still  in  his  hands,  and 
consequently  under  our  control,  but  that  Brother  AVinter  be  re- 
quested to  return  it." 

Minutes  of  1853,  pages  6  and  25. 

The  Synod  adjourned  on  Tuesday,  25th  October,  a  little  before 
twelve  o'clock.  At  twelve  M.  the  ministerium  held  a  session,  at 
which  this  item  was  called  up  for  action.  The  published  minutes 
read  thus : 

The  second  item  of  report  on  President's  repDrt  (referring  to 
the  case  of  Rev.  J.  Winter)  as  amended,  was  adopted. 

Revs.  Seiss  and  Kurtz  gave  notice  that  they  would  offer  pro- 
tests against  the  adoption  of  this  item  of  the  report.  But  Synod 
having  adjourned  before  they  were  received,  the  provisional  acts 
relating  thereto  in  the  by-laws,  (sec  16)  exclude  these  documents 
from  the  present  minutes. 

At  the  Synod,  1854,  at  Clearspring,  Rev.  F.  R.  Anspach,  Presi- 
dent, reported  on  this  case. 

"  On  the  10th  of  November,  the  Secretary  of  this  body  for- 
warded to  me  two  papers  which  had  been  sent  to  him  to  be  incor- 
porated with  the  minutes,  one  from  Dr.  B.  Kurtz,  and  the  other 
from  Rev.  J.  A.  Seiss,  both  protesting  against  the  action  of  Synod 
in  relation  to  the  case  of  Rev.  John  Winter.  As  this  is  a  novel 
feature  in  our  ecclesiastical  affairs,  and  as  I  had  no  precedent  by 
which  my  judgment  could  be  guided,  the  Synod  will  indulge  me 
in  a  brief  statement  of  the  reasons  which  determined  me  to  rule 
the  protests  out  of  our  minutes,  and  in  which  opinion  the  other 
officers  concurred.  It  is  moreover  due  to  the  brethren  who  pro- 
tested as  well  as  myself,  to  show  why  their  papers  were  excluded 
from  the  record,  and  more  particularly  since  I  understand  that  it 
is  their  intention  to  test  the  justness  of  our  decision." 

An  able  argument  sustaining  the  exclusion  of  the  protests 
from  the  record  follows,  the  strongest  point  being,  that  the  sec- 
tion sixteen  of  By-Laws  goes  on  the  presumption  that  the  protest 
should  be  offered  to  the  Synod  during  the  convention,  as  it  pro- 
vides for  a  reply  to  the  protest,  which  could  not  be  had  if  the 
Secretary  were  allowed  to  receive  a  protest  after  adjournment,  and 
enter  it  upon  the  record.  This  would  give  the  minority  the  privi- 
lege of  recoi^ding  their  reasons  for  their  vote  in  the  negative,  and 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE   LUTHEEAN    MINISTRY.  487 

<leny  to  the  majority  all  opportunity  of  giving  tlieir  reasons  for 
their  affirmative  vote,  as  the  majority  could  not  reply  to  the 
protest." 

This  action  of  the  President  was  referred  to  a  committee  con- 
sisting of  Rev.  J.  F.  Campbell,  Rev.  G.  Diehl  and  Mr.  G.  Straus.''. 
They  offered  this  report : 

"  That  the  action  of  the  President  in  ruling  out  the  protests  of 
Dr.  Kurtz  and  Rev,  Seiss,  in  the  case  of  John  Winter,  deceased, 
from  the  proceedings  of  this  body,  was  under  the  circumstances 
not  only  justifiable,  but  highly  proper,  and  is  hereby  sustained." 

No  action  was  taken  on  this,  but  the  chairman  was  allowed  to 
withdraw  it.     The  following  was  subsequently  passed : 

Hesalved,  That  the  remark  of  the  Secretary  on  pages  33  and  34 
of  last  year's  minutes,  respecting  the  exclusion  of  the  protests  of 
Revs.  Seiss  and  Kurtz,  be  stricken  out." 

The  Synod  thus  left  it  an  open  question  whether  a  protest  can 
be  offered  after  adjournment  and  entered  by  the  Secretary  on  the 
record. 

At  a  session  of  the  ministerium  during  this  convention,  Octo- 
ber 16th,  1854,  "  Rev.  Seiss  moved  a  repeal  of  that  part  of  the  re- 
port of  the  committee  on  the  President's  report  for  1852-3, 
recorded  on  page  25  of  the  minutes  of  1853,  and  adopted  by  the 
ministerium  at  the  conclusion  of  its  final  session  of  last  year;  the 
matter  sought  to  be  repealed  being  marked  item  No.  2,  with  the 
appended  resolution  in  the  words  following,  viz.:  (See  resolution.) 

This  subject  was  again  discussed  at  some  length.  After  which 
the  following  resolution  offered  by  Rev.  Anspach  was  passed  : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  subject  of  repealing  the  action  of  the  min- 
isterium, in  relation  to  the  dismission  of  Rev.  J.  Winter  be  post- 
poned for  consideration  until  the  next  Synod." 

Rev.  John  Winter  having  departed  this  life  March,  1854,  some 
seven  months  before  this  convention  of  the  Synod,  his  widow,  un- 
der an  impression  that  the  action  of  the  Synod  in  1853  reflected 
"unfavorably  upon  the  conduct  of  her  husband,  addressed  a  com- 
munication to  the  Synod,  which  was  put  into  the  hands  of  a  com- 
mittee consisting  of  Rev.  G.  Diehl  and  Rev.  J.  G.  Butler,  who 
reported  that  no  aspersion  was  intended  or  was  in  reality  cast 
upon  the  conduct  and  character  of  her  late  husband. 

The  discussion  of  the  subject  was  now  transferred  to  the  columns 
of  the  Lutheran  Observer.     In  the  issue  of  November  17,  1854,  a 


488  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

short  communication,  over  the  signature  "  H.,"  under  the  heading 
— "  The  Maryland  Synod — A  Question  for  the  Church,"  called  at- 
tention to  it.  The  writer  said — "  The  question  is,  whether  a  man 
in  good  standing  in  the  Synod,  and  ivisldng  to  discontinue  his  mem- 
bership, though  announciy^g  no  intention  to  join  any  other  S;jnod,  is 
entitled  to  an  honorable  dismission  V 

To  this  Dr.  Kurtz,  the  then  editor,  replied  at  some  length.  He 
said — •"  It  involves  the  first,  the  plainest  and  fundamental  princi- 
ples of  rational  liberty.  Synods  do  not  constitute  ministerial 
character,  but  merely  recognize  and  proclaim  it.  It  is  God  who 
makes  ministers,  who  calls  them  into  his  service,  qualifies  and 
ordains  them.  And  when  he  thus  creates  no  human  power  can 
destroy  ;  what  he  makes  man  cannot  unmake.  If  the  examination 
of  a  candidate  for  licensure  and  ordination,  and  the  scrutiny  of 
the  Synod  result  in  the  conviction  that  God  has  called  and  quali- 
fied the  man,  the  Synod  recognizes  and  receives  him  as  a  member, 
and  thereby  proclaims  the  fact  that  they  acknowledge  him  as  a 
minister  of  Jesus  Christ.  If  he  subsequently  desires  to  withdraw 
from  Synod,  may  he  not  do  so  ?  His  entrance  was  voluntary,  and 
may  not  his  withdrawal  be  equally  voluntary?"  The  doctor  said 
a  man  may  be  "  a  minister  at  large,"  that  it  is  an  inherent  right 
that  a  man  entering  a  Synod  with  a  good  character,  and  deporting 
himself  properly  for  a  term  of  years,  may  withdraw,  and  is  enti- 
tl  )d  to  testimonials  of  his  Christian  and  ministerial  character." 

He  continues — "We  are  assured  that  both  in  Virginia  and  in 
Pennsylvania,  and  no  doubt  in  other  sections  of  the  church,  min- 
isters have  been  honorably  dismissed  without  their  intending  to 
join  other  clerical  organizations.  He  had  also  heard  of  similar 
cases  in  the  Presbyterian  Church."  He  adds — "  Let  it  be  borne 
in  mind  that,  having  withdrawn  from  all  ecclesiastical  connection 
with  us,  he  is  no  longer  a  Lutheran  minister,  and  we  are  no  longer 
responsible  for  his  conduct." 

To  this  editorial  and  its  leading  position  Rev.  G.  Diehl  replied 
in  a  communicatioh  under  the  heading — "  The  Maryland  Synod's 
Question,"  in  the  Observer  of  December  1,  1854.  He  first  defined 
the  import  of  a  certificate  of  honorable  dismission.  "  A  certificate 
of  dismission  to  a  minister,  given  by  a  Synod  or  its  presiding  oflS- 
cer,  is  a  testimonial  of  his  Christian  and  ministerial  character,  and 
an  expression  of  the  consent  of  his  Synod  to  transfer  his  member- 
ship to  another  clerical  body." 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  489 

The  article  maintains  that  the  church  is  a  congregation  of  be- 
lievers, among  whom  the  Gospel  is  preached  and  the  sacraments 
administered  according  to  th^  Gospel  (Augs.  Conf.)  That  while 
an  individual  church  may  be  independent,  and  independency  and 
Congregationalism  come  within  the  definition  of  the  church  in  our 
standards,  congregations  and  ministers  in  primitive  times  were 
united  in  occasional  Synods.  That  this  harmonizes  with  the  sym- 
bolic representations  of  the  church  in  the  New  Testament — a  tree, 
branches  of  the  vine,  a  kingdom,  &c.,  an  organized  body.  The 
Lutheran  Church  in  this  country  has  adopted  Synodical  govern- 
ment, and  all  loyal  Lutheran  ministers  should  conform  to  the  es- 
tablished order;  therefore,  to  dismiss  with  honorable  testimonials 
a  minister,  unless  the  dismission  be  the  mere  transferrence  of 
membership  to  another  body,  would  be  to  dismiss  to  the  world. 
That  the  Synod  cannot  sanction  the  departure  of  a  good  minister 
from  the  ckui'ch  to  the  world.  Moreover,  the  dismissal  of  a  min- 
ister to  no  body,  neither  to  an  individual  congregation  nor  to  a 
ministerial  body,  would  place  him  in  a  position  in  which  he  would 
be  separated  from  the  communion  of  saints,  and  could  not,  with- 
out a  violation  of  church  order,  obey  Christ's  dying  command — 
"  Do  this  in  remembrance  of  me."  Nor  -would  the  minister  in 
such  a  position  be  amenable  to  anybody  for  discipline.  This  would 
be  a  kind  of  apostasy  from  the  church  to  the  world,  and  a  Synod 
could  not  sanction  such  withdrawal  from  all  church  discipline  and 
church  fellowship.  If  a  minister  should  ask  to  withdraw,  to  take 
his  position  as  a  layman  in  a  congregation  or  to  become  pastor  of 
an  independent  congregation,  the  ends  of  Christian  fellowship  and. 
church  discipline  would  be  answered.  But  this  is  not  the  case 
before  the  Maryland  Synod." 

In  the  Observer,  December  22d,  1854,  Rev.  J.  A.  Seiss  defended 
the  honorable  dismissal  of  Rev.  Winter,  and  replied  to  G.  Diehl's 
article  as  follows :  "  This  is  a  question  that  must  be  decided  by 
the  New  Testament  alone.  The  New  Testament  Church  is  repub- 
lican— a  free  state  in  which,  if  the  individual  citizen  but  observe 
the  simple,  common  laws  of  the  founder,  there  is  no  earthly, 
rightful  tribunal  to  interfere  with  him.  Obedience  to  Jesus  in- 
vests a  man  with  an  inviolable  standing  before  God,  and  guarantees 
to  him  all  his  ecclesiastical  rights  in  defiance  of  all  Synods, 
bishops,  patriarchs,  conclaves,  popes  and  grandees  of  ecclesiastical 
office,  that  the  vanity,  or  the  pusillanimity  or  the  wisdom  of  mor- 


490  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAK   MINISTHY. 

tals  have  ever  set  up  in  Christendom.  Are  Synods  any  part  of 
the  originai,  divine,  essential  constitut  on  of  the  church?  Not  a 
whit  more  than  the  national  conventions  of  political  parties  are  a 
part  of  the  constitution  of  the  great  American  Republic.  Synods 
are  mere  human  contrivances,- the  creatures  of  human  expediency. 
We  read  of  no  Synods  in  the  New  Testament.  God  has  not  s  dd 
a  word  about  Synods,  therefore  they  have  no  peculiar,  special,  di- 
vine power.  Synods  are  nothing  more  than  voluntary  associa- 
tions of  ministers  and  churches  who  consent  together  to  exercise 
jointly  what  they  each  have  a  diviae  warrant  and  commission  tO' 
exercise  separately.  If  a  faithful  minister  of  Jesus,  under  the 
responsibilities  to  which  he  stands  to  his  Lord,  should  be  forced 
to  decide  against  the  expediency  of  this  combination,  and  feel 
conscientiously  bound  to  recede  from  it  and  carry  on  his  ministry 
in  the  way  God  originally  gave  it,  who  has  the  authority  to  hinder 
him  ?  Hundreds  of  holy,  active  and  sound  ministers  belong  to  no 
Synod,  and  yet  on  the  plain  principle  of  the  word  of  God,  suffer 
no  detriment  in  their  ministerial  authority." 

In  the  Observer,  January  12th,  1855,  Rev.  G.  Diehl  replied, 
"  That  all  Mr.  Seiss's  representations  did  not  touch  the  question  in- 
volved before  the  Maryland  Synod,  but  constituted  merely  a  de- 
fence of  Congregationalism,  and  congregational  independency.  In 
this  form  of  church  polity,  the  minister  submits  to  church  dis- 
cipline, holds  himself  amenable  to  the  congregation,  partakes  of 
the  sacrament  of  the  altar,  and  is  in  the  communion  of  the  saints. 
But  in  the  case  before  the  Synod,  the  minister  was  honorably  dis- 
missed out  of  the  church  into  the  wide  world,  a  position  in  which 
he  was  not  entitled  to  church  fellowship,  or  amenable  to  discipline." 

February  2,  1855,  Mr.  Seiss  rejoins — "  The  ministry  is  a  thing 
of  God  A  minister  cannot  be  constituted  except  as  God  has 
ordained.  And  when  the  ministry  has  once  been  legitimately 
conferred  upon  a  man,  it  cannot  be  taken  from  him  except  on 
grounds  which  God  has  indicated.  God  has  not  made  validity  of 
ministerial  authority  dependent  on  Synodical  connections.  Ceas- 
ing to  hold  membership  in  a  Synod  does  not  dissolve  ministerial 
authority;  and  that  to  depose  a  man  on  such  ground  alone  is  to 
act  without  divine  sanction,  to  make  human  expediency  set  aside 
the  clear  statements  of  inspiration,  to  exalt  human  enactments 
above  the  laws  of  God,  and  to  assign  to  Synodical  regulations  power 
to  repeal  the  ordinance  of  Christ." 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  491 

In  the  April  (1855)  number  of  the  Evangelical  Review,  there 
is  an  able  article  by  Dr.  Baugher  in  defence  of  the  action  of  the 
Synod  in  not  sanctioning  the  dismissal  of  a  minister  without 
connecting  himself  with  some  ecclesiastical  or  clerical  body.  In 
the  number  of  July  1855,  Rev.  J.  A.  Seiss  pulished  an  elaborate 
reply. 

At  the  Synod  of  Maryland  at  Washington,  October,  1855,  a 
paper  drawn  up  by  Dr.  Baugher  and  Mr.  Seiss  was  presented  and 
adopted. 

"  Whereas  certain  proceedings  of  the  Synod  of  Maryland 
touching  the  honorable  dismission  of  Rev.  John  Winter,  now 
deceased,  which  were  passed  in  Baltimore,  1853,  have  caused 
serious  trouble  among  some  of  the  brethren  ;  and  whereas  it  is 
desirable  that  we  should  agree  upon  some  settled  basis  with  regard 
to  the  questions  involved,  therefore — 

"  I.  Eeijolved,  That  the  following  statement  be  adopted  as  the 
sense  of  this  Synod  upon  the  subject. 

"  1.  That  we  view  Synodical  organizations  not  as  of  absolute 
divine  institution,  but  as  early  and  wisely  introduced  into  the 
Christian  church  for  the  more  satisfactory  and  eihcient  adminis- 
tration of  its  general  affairs,  but  possessing  no  specific  divine 
powers  beyond  or  above  those  resident  in  the  ministers  and 
churches  of  which  they  are  composed. 

"  2.  That  fraternal  association  for  mutual  consultation  and 
advice,  and  for  the  joint  exercise  of  God's  gifts  to  his  individual 
ministers  and  churches,  Synods  are  vital  to  the  operations  of  the 
church  as  it  exists  in  this  country ;  and  that  the  wisdom  of  our 
Lutheran  fathers  in  adopting  and  incorporating  them  into  the 
government  and  discipline  of  our  church  claims  our  highest  com- 
mendation. 

"  3.  That  it  is  rightfully  expected  of  all  who  claim  to  be  accred- 
ited ministers  of  our  church,  as  constituted  in  this  country,  that 
they  seek  connection  with  some  one  of  our  District  Synods. 

"  4.  That  a  minister  in  good  standing  in  the  Synod  may  withdraw 
from  his  connection  with  it,  and  may  receive  testimonials  of  his 
good  standing  up  to  the  moment  of  his  withdrawal ;  but  that  after 
he  has  thus  withdrawn  he  will  no  longer  be  regarded  by  us  as  an 
accredited  minister  of  the  Lutheran  church  until  he  has  again 
secured  membership  in  some  one  of  our  regular  Synods. 
•     "  5.  That  the  power  of  giving  the  testimonials  above  alluded  to 


492  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

shall  not  lie  with  the  President  ad  interim,  but  the  Synod  itself 
in  regular  session  assembled. 

"  II.  Jiesolveif,  That  the  proceedings  of  the  Synod  in  1853,  which 
relate  to  the  honorable  dismission  of  the  Rev.  J.  "Winter,  so  far  as 
they  are  inconsistent  with  the  above  statements,  be  and  are  hereby 
rescinded:  that  the  resolution  of  the  Synod  in  1853  has  respect 
only  to  the  constitutional  powers  of  the  President,  and  that  if 
there  be  any  reflection  on  Brother  Winter's  character  in  that  act 
we  hereby  disclaim  and  repeal  it." 

Dr.  Diehl  has  stited  this  subject  very  fairly.  Since  the  period 
above  announced  only  two  applications  from  dissatisfied  ministers 
have  been  made  for  dismission  from  the  Synod  without  the  inten- 
tion of  joining  any  other.  They  were  promptly  refused,  but  both 
these  men  are  no  longer  members  of  any  Synod  by  their  own 
acts. 


ENGLISH  LUTHERAN  HYMN  BOOKS. 


BY   PEV.   M.   SHEELEIGH. 


The  "Hymn  and  Prayer  Book"  of  Dr.  Kunze,  published  in 
1795,  was  the  first  work  of  the  kind  prepared  expressly  for  the 
public  worship  of  English  Lutheran  congregations.  He  was  one 
of  our  apostolic  laborers  in  this  Western  world — a  contemjiorary 
and  successor  of  the  great  Muhlenberg,  as  well  as  one  of  the  most 
learned  men  who  assisted  in  laying  the  foundation  of  our  Amer- 
ican Institutions  after  the  Revolutionary  war.  It  is  doubtful 
whether  he  had  in  him  enough  of  the  poetical  element  for  the 
work  of  writing  or  compiling  a  strictly  Lutheran  Hymn  Book 
in  the  English  language.  But  apart  from  this,  his  knowledge  of 
the  English  language  was  too  limited  to  admit  of  the  po.ssibility 
of  success  in  such  an  undertaking.  Hence  he  took  as  his  basis 
the  translations  of  the  Psalmodia  (Jermanica,  and  the  Moravian 
Collection  of  1789,  without  any  material  alterations.  In  his  pre- 
face he  says,  "  All  except  those  in  the  appendix  are  taken  from 
printed  books,  particularly  the  German  Psalmody,  with  which 
many  serious  English  persons  have  been  greatly  delighted ;  and 
from  a  collection  of  the  Moravian  Brethren,  printed  in  London, 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  493 

1789."  This  latter  book  contained  some  hymns  of  Watts,  New- 
ton, Erskine,  Kenn,  &c.,  but  all  the  rest  ax-e  wretchedly  poor. 
The  Rev.  Messrs.  Strebeck  and  Ernst  were  Dr.  Kunze's  assistants, 
but  they  had  no  poetic  talent,  their  English  was  imperfect,  and 
their  original  contributions,  as  well  as  those  of  Dr.  Kunze,  would 
not  be  endured  at  the  present  day.  They  are  full  of  barbarisms, 
and  the  imperfections  are  simply  intolerable. 

The  book  never  took  a  firm  hold  upon  the  church;  plain  people 
could  not  understand  the  hymns,  and  educated  people  were 
shocked  at  their  coarseness  of  versification. 

In  1797  another  book  was  issued  in  New  York,  which,  hke  the 
former,  was  an  individual  enterprise.  Its  editor  was  Rev.  George 
Strebeck,  then  jDastor  of  the  English  Lutheran  Church  of  that 
city.  The  volume  embraced  two  hundred  and  ninety-seven  hymns, 
a  Liturgy,  the  Gospels  and  Epistles,  and  the  Augsburg  Confes- 
sion. 

A  third  book  was  published  in  New  York,  six  years  later,  in 
1806.  The  compiler  was  Rev.  Ralph  Williston.  The  book  is  fur- 
nished with  a  certificate  by  Dr.  Kunze,  showing  that  it  was  de- 
signed to  be  regarded  in  a  synodically  official  light.  The  hymn 
division  comprises  three  hundred  and  nineteen  pages,  followed  by 
one  hundred  pages  of  liturgy. 

The  next  hymn  book  was  compiled  by  Drs.  Quitman,  Wacker- 
hagen  and  Mayer,  first  published  in  1814.  This  is  what  is  com- 
monly known  as  "  The  Old  New  York  Hymn  Book."  It  almost- 
entirely  rejects  the  German  element  which  so  fully  pervaded  Dr. 
Kunze's  book,  and  draws  its  hymns  from  sources  almost  exclusively 
English.  But  some  of  the  most  beautiful  and  old-fashioned  or- 
thodox hymns  are  mutilated  or  perverted.*  Some  of  the  cardinal 
doctrines  of  the  New  Testament  are  barely  hinted  at  or  ignored. 
The  distinctive  Lutheran  teachings  on  the  sacraments  are  not 
recognized. 

To  the  volume  was  added  a  liturgy,  which  probably  sus- 
tained the  book  among  the  people  of  some  of  our  English  churches 
in  New  York,  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania,  for  a  longer  time 
than  the  hymns  alone  would  have  done.  The  preface  was  signed 
by  Frederick  PI.  Quitman,  D.  D.,  as  President,  and  Augustus 
Wackerhagen,  as  Secretary  of  the  Synod.  In  1834  the  book  was 
issued  with  a  larger  number  of  hymns  and  prayers.  The  "  Ad- 
ditional Hymns"  ran  the  whole  number  up  to  seven  hundred. 

♦See  Evangelical  Review,  October,  1859,  189-90. 


494  FIFTY    YEAKS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY. 

Rev.  Dr.  P.  F.  Mayer  was  chairman  of  the  committee  charged 
with  the  work  of  improvement. 

There  is  more  unction  and  a  higher  tone  of  literary  merit  in 
these  "  Additional  Hymns,"  but  there  is  no  clear  recognition  of 
the  orthodoxy  of  the  church,  unless  we  except  the  benediction, 
in  which  we  find  the  trinity  at  least  by  implication.  The  book 
contains  nothing  that  is  distinctively  Lutheran. 

The  first  edition  of  the  General  Synod's  Hymn  Book  was 
published  in  1828,  and  down  to  1841  twenty-nine  editions  had  been 
printed.  That  year  the  General  Synod  instructed  the  Hymn  Book 
Committee — then  consisting  of  Rev.  Dr.  S.  S.  Schmucker,  Rev.  Dr. 
J.  G.  Morris  and  Mr.  C.  A  Morris — to  prepare  a  selection  of  a  few 
additional  hymns  to  be  appended  to  the  book.  The  thirtieth 
edition,  dated  1842,  accordingly  appeared  with  an  appendix  of 
one  hundred  and  ninety-nine  hymns,  making  the  whole  nine 
hundred  and  sixty-five.  Only  two  hymns  were  substituted  in  the 
body  of  the  book. 

In  1848  the  General  Synod  appointed  a  committee  of  fifteen — 
one  from  each  district  Synod — to  revise  the  book.  A  sub-com- 
mittee of  three,  residing  in  Gettysburg,  was  finally  specially 
charged  with  the  work — namely.  Profs.  Reynolds,  Baugher  and 
Schmucker.  Two  years  later,  the  book  appeared  with  numerous 
changes.  In  the  body  of  the  collection  there  were  about  fifty 
substitutions,  together  with  many  verbal  changes  and  omissions  of 
stanzas,  while  the  appendix  was  wholly  rearranged  and  enlarged. 
The  whole  number  of  hymns  was  now  one  thousand  and  twenty- 
four,  embracing  a  considerable  number  of  translations  from  the 
stores  of  German  hymnology.  With  this  revision  appeared  the 
first  attempt  to  present  the  authors  of  hymns.  The  list  Avas 
prepared  chiefly  by  Rev.  M.  Sheeleigh,  but  it  was  first  unhappily 
confused  in  the  printing. 

The  type  of  the  24mo.  book  being  considered  too  small  for  the 
eyes  of  the  aged,  it  was,  in  1852,  issued  also  in  12mo.  form,  suitable 
also  for  the  pulpit.  In  1854  it  appeared  in  48mo.  form,  so  as  to 
be  more  conveniently  carried. 

In  1858  the  publishing  of  the  Hymn  Book  was  transferred  to 
the  Lutheran  Publication  Society,  Philadelphia,  where  numerous 
editions  appeared  until  the  year  1870,  when  this  book  was  wholly 
displaced  by  another  that  had  been  authorized. 

The  General  Synod,  in  1866,  again  appointed  a  committee  to 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHEP.AN   MINISTRY.  415 

revise  the  Hymn  Book.  The  result,  was  a  book  wholly  new  in 
arrangement.  Many  new  hymns  were  introduced,  many  old  ones 
were  cast  aside,  and  the  wliole  number  was  reduced  to  six  hundred 
and  one,  and  sixteen  doxologies.  The  selection,  as  a  whole,  will 
bear  a  more  rigid  criticism  than  its  predecessors.  This  volume  is 
entitled,  "The  Book  of  AVorship."  There  are  embodied  in  it  an 
Order  of  Public  Worship,  Family  Prayers,  Luther's  Smaller 
Catechism,  The  Augsburg  Confession,  The  Formula  of  Government 
and  Discipline,  and  the  Constitution  of  the  General  Synod.  The 
authors  of  the  hymns  are  given  in  the  index  of  the  first  lines. 
The  compilation  of  hymns  was  made  by  the  Piev.  Drs.  S.  S. 
Schmucker,  M.  Valentine  and  C.  A.  Stork. 

In  1845  the  Joint  Synod  of  Ohio  issued  a  book  at  Zanesville, 
with  the  title,  "  A  Collection  of  Hymns  and  Prayers  for  Public 
and  Private  Worship."  This  work  was  made  to  conform,  in  ar- 
rangement and  contents,  to  the  General  Synod's  book,  as  nearly 
as  permitted  by  the  objects  which  suggested  the  compilation.  The 
number  of  hymns  it  contains,  including  doxologies,  is  four  hun- 
dred and  fifty-eight.  The  names  of  the  committee  who  prepared 
the  book  are  not  given.  There  are  seventy-nine  pages  of  prayers 
for  the  use  of  families  and  individuals  added. 

A  second  book,  published  by  order  of  the  Joint  Synod  of  Ohio, 
appeared  in  1853,  at  Columbus.  The  names  of  the  committee  of 
compilation  are  not  given  ;  but  report  ascribes  the  prominent 
part  of  the  labor  to  Kev.  Prof.  M.  Loy.  The  number  of  hymns 
is  three  hundred  and  fifty-four,  and  seven  doxologies.  The  ar- 
rangement is  distinct  from  that  of  the  former  book.  Many  of 
the  hymns  are  translations  from  the  German.  This  book  contains 
hymns  alone. 

The  Tennessee  Synod  published  an  English  Hymn  book,  en- 
titled, "Church  Hymn  Book  in  1816."  It  was  compiled,  and 
largely  composed,  by  Rev.  Paul  Henkel.  It  contains  five  hundred 
and  forty-six  pages. 

In  the  year  1838  a  new  book  of  five  hundred  and  twenty-seven 
pages  appeared  by  the  same  authority.  Though  called  a  second 
edition,  it  was  in  some  of  its  features  a  new  book.  It  was  pre- 
pared by  Rev.  Ambrose  Henkel,  a  son  of  the  former.  The  pre- 
face informs  us  that  though  this  book  varies  in  some  respects  from 
the  former,  it  was  founded  upon  the  same  basis,  and  comprised 
essentially  the  same  matter.     Many  hymns  were  added.     A  third 


496  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

and  a  fourth  edition  appeared,  respectively,  in  1850  and  1857.  In 
each  case  there  are  a  few  additions  of  hymns.  The  whole  num- 
ber is  now  six  hundred  and  seventy-nine,  and  the  Look  is  published 
at  New  Market,  Virginia. 

The  Evangelical  Psalmist  is  the  name  of  a  book  issued  in  18G0, 
from  the  house  of  Lindsay  and  Blakiston,  Philadelphia.  It  is 
substantially  the  General  Synod's  Hymn  Book  of  that  time  (with 
some  omissions  and  additions),  together  with  tunes.  It  was  the 
joint  work  of  Drs.  Seiss,  McCron  and  Passavant.  The  hymn  and 
tune  part  of  the  book  contains  four  hundred  and  thirty-eight 
pages.  Ninety  pages  of  church  forms  are  appended.  It  was 
introduced  into  very  few  churches. 

The  late  civil  war  having  separated  the  Southern  Synods  from 
the  General  Synod,  they  organized  a  Southern  General  Synod. 
A  new  hymn  book  was  prepared,  the  first  issue  of  which  appeared 
in  1867.  It  was  called  the  Book  of  Worship.  It  contains  four 
hundred  and  sixty-five  hymns  and  thirteen  doxologies,  a  Liturgy, 
Scripture  Lessons,  Confessions,  Prayers,  Formula  of  Government, 
and  the  Constitution  of  the  Southern  General  Synod.  The  book 
was  prepared  by  Kev.  Prof.  AVm.  D.  Roedel,  chairman  of  the 
committee.     It  is  published  at  Columbia,  S.  C. 

Another  compilation,  called  The  Church  Book,  appeared  in 
Philadelj^hia  in  1869,  by  order  of  the  General  Council.  There 
are  here  five  hundred  and  eighty-eight  hymns  and  eighteen 
doxologies  ;  also  Forms  of  Service,  Prayers,  Confessions,  etc.  The 
authors'  names  appear  in  connection  with  the  hymns.  The  com- 
pilers of  the  hymns  were  Pev.  F.  M.  Bird  and  Rev.  Dr.  B.  M. 
Schmucker. 


SUNDAY   SCHOOI.   HYMN    BOOKS. 

BY  REV.  M.  SHEELEIGH. 

The  first  hymn  book  for  English  Lutheran  Sunday  Schools  made 
its  appearance  in  1833.  Although  anonymous,  it  is  known  to 
have  been  prepared  by  the  elder  Rev.  Dr.  C.  P.  Krauth,  while 
pastor  of  St.  Matthew's  church,  Philadelphia.  Its  title  is, 
"  Hymns,  Selected  and  Arranged  for  Sunday  Schools  of  the 
Evangelical  Lutheran  Church,"  etc.     The  hymns  were  numbered 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE   LUTEERAN    MINISTRY.  497 

to  two  hundred  and  seventeen.  An  edition  of  1838  has  in  it  ten 
additional  hymns. 

Ten  years  later,  or  in  1843,  another  book  appeared  in  Baltimore. 
The  selection  was  the  work  of  Rev.  Dr.  W.  A.  Passavant.  No 
compiler's  name,  however,  appears.  As  the  book  was  designed  to 
fill  the  place  of  the  former,  which  had  gone  out  of  print,  it  bears 
the  same  title,  excepting  that  for  the  word  "Arranged"  the  word 
"Original"  is  substituted.  It  contains  altogether  three  hundred 
and  four  hymns,  the  last  forty-two  forming  a  Supplement  for 
Infant  Sunday  Schools. 

The  publisher  of  the  latter,  Mr.  T.  Newton  Kurtz,  desiring  to 
extend  the  usefulness  of  the  book,  secured  its  enlargement  and 
improvement.  The  hymns  as  far  as  number  two  hundred  and 
fifty-one  were  left  standing  intact,  to  which  an  appendix  was 
compiled  by  Eev.  M.  Sheeleigh,  running  the  number  up  to  four 
hundred  and  thirty-five.  Then  follow  thirty-nine  pages  occupied 
•with  forms  for  opening  and  closing  Sunday  Schools,  The  Lord's 
Prayer,  The  Ten  Commandments,  The  Greed,  etc.  The  book  is  in 
32mo.  form,  and  contains  four  hundred  and  sixty-seven  pages.  It 
was  printed  at  Baltimore  in  1860. 

A  supplement  was  prepared  for  the  last  by  Rev.  M.  Sheeleigh. 
The  title  is  "  Hymns,  Selected  and  Original,  for  Infant  Sunday 
Schools  in  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church."  The  number  of 
hymns  is  one  hundred  and  thirty-two.  Following  these  are  The 
Lord's  Prayer,  The  Ten  rommandments,  The  Creed,  etc.,  together 
with  a  little  Catechism  adapted  to  infants,  prepared  for  the  book 
by  the  compiler.  This  infant  book  is  often  found  bound  up  with 
the  larger  volume. 

In  the  same  year  with  the  last,  1860,  the  Lutheran  Board  of 
Publication,  Philadelphia,  issued  a  book,  entitled,  "  Hymns  for 
Sunday  Schools,"  published  by  order  of  the  General  Synod  of 
the  Evangelical  Lutheran  church.  It  was  compiled  by  Rev.  Dr. 
L.  E.  Albert  and  Rev.  Prof.  T.  T.  Titus.  There  are  in  the  body 
of  the  book  three  hundred  and  forty-six  hymns  and  fifteen  dox- 
ologies,  covering  two  hundred  and  eighty-six  pages. 

To  the  above  is  added  an  appendix  of  fifty  hymns  for  infants, 
or  forty-six  pages,  also  issued  separately,  as  in  the  former  case. 
It  was  prepared  by  the  same  hands  that  produced  the  larger 
book,  and  at  the  same  time. 

A  little  manual  of  select  hymns,  compiled  expressly  for  the  use 
of  the  Sunday  School  of  St.  John's  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church, 


498  FIFTY    YEAP.S    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Philadelphia,  was  printed  in  1864.  It  contains  seventy-five 
hymns,  gathered  from  the  popular  music  books  used  in  Sunday 
schools  at  the  time. 

In  1873,  by  order  of  the  General  Council,  a  book  appeared  in 
Philadelphia,  with  the  title,  "  Sunday  School  Book  for  the  use  of 
Evangelical  Lutheran  Congregations."  There  are  in  it  three 
hundred  and  nine  pages,  embracing  two  hundred  thirty-three 
hymns,  accompanied  by  tunes.  These  are  preceded  by  an  "  Or- 
der of  Service,  The  Catechism,  and  Chants  and  Canticles."  The 
book  was  prepared  by  a  committee  of  which  Piev.  Dr.  C.  AV. 
Schaeffer  was  the  chairman. 


BRIEF  SKETCHES  OF  LUTHERAN  COLLEGES. 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLLEGE. 


When  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Getty.sburg  was  established, 
in  1826,  it  was  soon  discovered  that  another  institution  was  neces- 
sary, in  which  young  men,  destined  for  the  ministry,  might  re- 
ceive academic  training.  Accordingly,  in  June,  1827,  a  classical 
school  was  established,  under  the  direction  of  D.  Jacobs,  A.  M., 
and  in  1829  a  scientific  department  was  connected  with  it,  under 
the  care  of  his  brother,  M.  Jacobs.  In  the  summer  of  1829,  the 
plan  of  the  institution  having  been  enlarged,  the  name  was  changed 
to  that  of  the  Gettysburg  Gymnasium.  After  the  death  of  David 
Jacobs  the  classical  department  was  vacant  except  by  temporary 
supplies,  until  April,  1831,  when  Pev.  H.  L.  Baugher,  A.  M.,  was 
appointed  to  take  charge  of  it. 

It  was  soon  deemed  expedient  to  place  the  school  on  a  more 
permanent  basis  by  enlarging  its  operations,  and  organizing  the 
Gymnasium  into  a  Collegiate  form.  A  charter  was  obtained  from 
the  legislature  in  April,  1832,  and  on  the  4th  of  July  of  that  year, 
the  institution  was  organized  under  the  title  of  Pennsylva7iia  Col- 
lege. The  Hon.  Calvin  Blythe  delivered  an  address  on  the  occa- 
sion. On  the  same  day,  the  Patrons*  of  the  College  selected  the 
following  Board  of  Trustees: 

"  This  was  tile  title  given  to  those  who  were  chosen  from  the  number  of  contri- 
butors to  the  support  of  the  school,  and  to  whom  its  government  was  given  before 
the  college  was  chartered. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  499 

Hon.  Calvin  Blytlie,  President;  John  G.  Morris,  Secretary; 
J.  B.  MoPherson,  Esq.,  Treasurer;  Hon,  A.  Thompson,  L.  L.  D., 
J.  G.  Schmucker,  D.  D.,  D.  F.  Schaeffer,  D.  D.,  J.  C.  Baker,  D.  D., 

B.  Kurtz,  D.  D.,  S.  S.  Schmucker,  D.  D.,  E.  L.  Hazelius,  D.  D., 

C.  P.  Krauth,  D.  D.,  Hon.  D.  Shatter,  Rev.  C.  F.  Heyer,  Rev.  A. 
Reck,  R.  G.  Harper,  Esq.,  Hon.  T.  C.  Miller,  J.  F.  McFarlane, 
Esq.,  Rev.  F.  Ruthrauff,  Rev.  J.-Medtard,  Rev.  Emanuel  Keller, 
Rev.  A.  H.  Lochman. 

On  the  same  evening  the  Board  met  and  organized  the  follow- 
ing faculty  : 

S.  S.  Schmucker,  D.  D.,  Frofessor  of  Intellectual  Fhilosophy 
and  Moral  Science ;  E.  L.  Hazelius,  D.  D.,  Professor  of  the  Latin 
Language  and  Literature ;  Rev. -H.  L.  Baugher,  A.  M.,  Professor 
of  the  Greek  Language  and  Belles  Lettres  ;  M.  Jacobs,  A.  M.,  jPro- 
fessor  of  Mathem  dies  mid  Natural  Scieyice  ;  J.  H.  Marsden,  A.  M., 
Professor  of  Mineralogy  and  Botany. 

In  consequence  of  their  duties  in  the  Theological  Seminary, 
Doctors  Hazelius  and  Schmucker,  who  agreed  to  serve  only  until 
other  arrangements  could  be  made,  withdrew  from  the  faculty  in 
1833,  and  Rev.  C.  P.  Krauth  of  Philadelphia  was  elected  to  the 
Professorship  of  Intellectual  and  Moral  Science.  In  the  spring  of 
1834  he  was  appointed  to  the  Presidency  of  the  college,  and  was 
inducted  into  office  at  the  commencement  of  the  winter  session. 
Subsequently,  the  corps  of  instructors  was  filled  by  the  appoint- 
ment of  William  M.  Reynolds,  A.  M.,  who  had,  for  some  time 
previously,  been  acting  as  Principal  of  the  Preparatory  Dej)art- 
ment,  to  the  chair  of  latin  language  and  literature. 

During  the  winter  of  1833-34,  through  the  efforts  of  Hon. 
Thaddeus  Stevens,  a  member  of  the  legislature,  an  appropriation 
of  eighteen  thousand  dollars  was  secured  for  the  college  from  the 
State. 

This  appropriation  enabled  the  trustees  to  erect  an  edifice  more 
suitable  than  the  old  "Academy,"  in  which  the  instructions  had 
heretofore  been  given.  The  building  was  commenced  in  1836,  and 
in  the  autumn  of  1837  it  was  sufficiently  advanced  to  admit  of 
its  occupancy  by  a  part  of  the  students. 

The  annual  appropriation  of  one  thousand  dollars  by  the  State 
to  this  and  other  colleges,  enabled  the  trustees  to  extend  its  oper- 
ations by  the  appointment  of  additional  instructors.  Accordingly, 
in  the  autumn  of  1838,  Rev.  H.  I.  Schmidt,  A.  M.,  was  elected 


500  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Professor  of  tlie  German  Language  and  Literature,  History  and 
French.  He  resigned  in  1843 ;  M.  L.  Stoever,  A.  M.,  who,  for 
some  time  before,  had  been  at  the  head  of  the  Academical  De- 
partment, was  elected  Professor  of  History,  and  instruction  in 
German  was  given  by  one  of  the  other  Professors,  until  the  win- 
ter term  of  1844,  when  Rev.  G.  A.  Hay,  A.  M.,  entered  upon  the 
duties  of  that  chair.  In  the  spring  of  1845,  H.  Haupt,  A.  M., 
was  appointed  adjunct  Professor  of  Mathematics.  In  the  fall  of 
1847  Professors  Hay  and  Haupt  resigned,  the  former  that  his  time 
might  be  entirely  devoted  to  the  Theological  Seminary,  and  the 
latter  to  accept  a  more  desirable  appointment  elsewhere.  In  1850 
Professor  Reynolds  withdrew  to  accept  the  Presidency  of  the 
University  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  'and  the  department  of  Latin 
Language  and  Literature  was  assigned  to  Professor  Stoever.  The 
Presidency,  during  this  year,  also  became  vacant  by  the  election 
of  Dr.  Krauth  to  a  Professorship  in  the  Seminary.  Dr.  Baugher, 
who  had  been  a  Professor  in  the  College  from  the  time  of  its  or- 
ganization, was  chosen  his  successor,  and  F.  A.  Muhlenberg,  A.  M., 
was  elected  to  the  vacant  ProfessorshijD  of  the  Greek  Language 
and  Literature.  In  1850  Dr.  D.  Gilbert  was  appointed  Lecturer 
on  Anatomy  and  Physiology,  and  H.  Montanus,  Instructor  in 
German  and  French. 

The  "  Franklin  Professorship  "  was  founded  the  same  year  with 
the  funds  received  as  the  Lutheran  interest  of  Franklin  College, 
Lancaster,  chartered  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature  in  1787,  with 
special  reference  to  the  wants  of  the  German  population.  This 
institution  was  designed  for  "the  citizens  of  the  Commonwealth 
of  German  birth  or  extraction,  and  for  others  not  thus  descended, 
that  they  might  be  cai-efully  instructed  in  the  principles  of  the 
Christian  religion,  the  English,  German  and  Classical  languages, 
science  and  literature,  to  qualify  them  for  taking  an  intelligent 
and  active  part  in  the  management  of  the  affairs  of  this  State  or 
of  the  General  Government,  or  of  being  useful  to  the  learned  pro- 
fessions or  the  mechanic  arts."  By  a  provision  of  the  charter  the 
Board  of  Trustees  was  to  consist  of  not  less  than  forty-five,  of 
whom  fifteen  were  to  be  forever  selected  from  the  members  of  the 
Lutheran  Church,  fifteen  from  the  Reformed  or  Calvinistic  Church, 
and  the  remaining  fifteen  from  any  other  denominations  of  Chris- 
tians. With  the  consent  of  all  the  parties  interested,  an  act  of 
the  Legislature  was  secured,  in  1850,  by  which  one-third  of  the 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  501 

funds  (upwards  of  seventeen  thousand  dollars)  were  transferred 
to  Pennsylvania  College  for  the  permanent  endowment  of  the 
"Franklin  Professorship,"  the  first  incumbent  of  which  was  to  be 
Professor  of  Ancient  Languages,  and  appointed  by  the  existing 
Lutheran  members  of  the  Franklin  Board.  The  right  of  nomi- 
nating the  subsequent  incumbents  was  invested  in  the  Synod  of 
Pennsylvania.  By  the  same  act  the  Lutheran  Trustees  of  Frank- 
lin College  were  to  be  united  with  the  Trustees  of  Pennsylvania 
College.  The  names  are  F.  A.  Muhlenberg,  M.  D,,  J.  C.  Baker, 
D.  D.,  Rev.  AVm.  Baetes,  J.  G.  Schmucker,  D.  D.,  S.  S.  Schmucker, 
D.  D.,  A.  H.  Lochman,  D.  D.,  C.  R.  Demme,  D.  D.,  Rev.  B.  Kel- 
ler, H.  H.  Muhlenberg,  M.  D.,  John  F.  Long,  Christopher  Hager, 
George  Musser,  G.  Mayer,  Adam  Keller  and  George  Krug.  Sev- 
eral of  these  gentlemen  were  at  the  time  also  Trustees  of  Penn- 
sylvania' College,  and  others  had  served  at  previous  periods  in 
this  capacity.  Professor  Muhlenberg,  who  had  been  for  twelve 
years  connected  with  Franklin  College  as  an  instructor,  was  trans- 
ferred to  this  Professorship. 

In  1851  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania  determined  to  endow  a 
Professorship  of  the  German  Language  and  Literature,  with  the 
mutual  understanding  that  the  Synod  should  always  have  the 
power  of  nominating  the  incumbent.  The  resolution  was  subse- 
quently modified  so  that  the  Professor  might  also  impart  theolog- 
ical instructionin  the  German  language  in  the  Seminary.  Through 
the  indefatigable  and  successful  services  of  Rev.  Benjamin  Keller 
the  requisite  funds  were  collected,  and  the  Rev.  Charles  F.  Schaef- 
fer,  D.  D.,  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  was,  in 
1855,  unanimously  selected  for  the  Professorship.  Dr.  SchaefFer 
continued  to  occupy  the  position  until  the  fall  term  of  1864,  when 
he  resigned  to  accept  a  call  in  the  recently  established  Theological 
Seminary  in  Philadelphia. 

The  endowment  of  these  two  Professorships  was  very  important 
to  the  interests  of  the  College.  The  relief,  too,  came  very  oppor- 
tunely, at  a  time  when  funds  were  much  needed  to  meet  the  ne- 
cessary expenses  of  the  Institution.  Of  late  years  there  had  been 
a  considerable  reduction  in  the  number  of  students,  in  consequence 
of  the  multiplication  of  Colleges  and  Preparatory  Schools  in  all 
parts  of  the  Church. 

In  addition  to  the  two  Professorships  mentioned,  the  College  has 
funds  invested  to  the  amount  of  ij^l 7,000  (1865),  secured  princi- 

33 


502  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

pally  by  the  sale  of  scliolarships,  which  have  rendered  more  than 
an  equivalent  in  the  gratuitous  instruction  furnished. 


LINNAEAN     HALL. 


Linnaean  Hall  was  erected  in  1846  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Linnaean  Association,  aided  by  the  Board  of  Trustees,  The 
corner-stone  Avas  laid  with  appropriate  ceremonies,  August  23, 
1846.  It  was  completed  the  following  summer,  and  dedicated 
September  14,  1847. 

The  President' s  House  was  built  in  1860. 

The  two  Pro/essors  Houses  on  the  College  Campus  were  erected 
in  1868. 

The  German  Professor's  House  on  Chambersburg  street  was 
purchased  and  forms  part  of  the  endowment  of  the  Profes.sorship 
of  the  German  Language  and  Literature. 

The  Mc Or eary- Gymnasium,  ninety  feet  by  forty-eight  feet,  was 
built  in  1872.  A  large  part  of  the  money  was  collected  by  the 
students,  and  the  building  was  named  after  John  B.  McCreary, 
in  recognition  of  his  contribution  of  one  thousand  dollars  to  it. 
It  was  opened  for  use  October  17,  1872. 

The  establishment  of  the  Pre|)aratory  School  w:as  contempora- 
neous with  the  founding  of  the  College  itself — 1832.  Until  1846 
the  work  of  the  Preparatory  Department  was  carried  on  in  the 
College  building  in  which  the  students  also  lodged.  After  the 
erection  of  the  Linnaean  Hall  in  1846,  the  first  story  of  that  was 
formed  into  recitation  rooms  for  this  department.  The  new 
Preparatory  Building  was  begun  in  1867,  the  corner-stone  being 
laid  August  8th.  An  address  was  delivered  on  the  occasion  by 
M.  Pvussell  Tha3^er  of  Philadelphia.  It  was  completed— the  centre 
building  only — in  1868.  No  dedication  exercises  were  held.  The 
name  Stevens'  Hall  was  given  to  it. 

PKINCIPALS  OP  PREPARATORY   DEPARTMENT. 

M.  L.  Stoever,  A.  M.,  1842-1856. 
C.  J.  Ehrehart,  A.  M.,  1865-1869. 

Rev.  S.  Sentman  was  Superintend nt,  1870-1871,  the  teaching 
being  done  by  Tutors. 

Hart  Gilbert,  A.  M.,  1872-1873. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  503 

Since  1873  the  teaching  was  done  by  Rev.  P.  L.  Harrison,  A.  M., 
and  Hart  Gilbert,  A.  M.,  as  Co-ordinate  Instructors,  Mr.  Harri- 
son being  Siq^erintendcnt.  In  the  interval  (1857-1864)  between 
the  principalship  of  Profs.  Stoever  and  Ehrehart  the  instruction 
was  given  by  Tutors. 

The  Astronomical  Ohservatory  was  erected  in  1874  under 
W.  F.  Weber  of  Baltimore  as  architect.  It  is  forty-eight  feet 
long  by  sixteen  wide  at  centre — consists  of  central  building  six- 
teen feet  .square,  with  two  wings,  each  sixteen  by  twelve  feet — 
central  part  surmounted  by  hemispherical  dome  for  Ec^uatorical 
Telescope.  One  wing  contains  Transit  Instrument,  Chronometer 
&c.,  and  the  other  Calculators'  rooms.  Built  of  corrugated  iron. 
Cost  $3000.     The  money  collected  by  Dr.  Valentine. 

Whole  number  of  Students,  about 2,100 

Graduates 577 

Ministry  (including  partials) 450 

(For  ministry  of  the  graduates) 320 

Professors  in  Colleges 54 

Presidents  of  Colleges 12 

CHIEF   GUANTS   AND   DONATIONS. 

From  the  State $24,500 

From  Franklin  College 17,169 

Messrs.  A.  F.  and  G.  P.  Ockershausen 20,000 

John  E.  Graeff,  Philadelphia 20,000 

Davis  Pearson 12,000 

C.  A.  Morris,  York 25,000 

John  Eyerman,  Easton 3,000 

Each  of  the  following  contributed  $1000,  viz. :  Martin  Buehler, 
Philadelphia;  F.  W.  Conrad,  D.  D.,  Philadelphia;  Hon.  Simon 
Cameron,  Harrisburg  ;  E.  Rahm,  Pittsburg  ;  C.  Yeager,  Pittsburg; 
Wm.  Smith,  York  ;  Weiser,  S&n  and  Carl,  York,  Pa. ;  M.  B.  Spahr, 
York,  Pa. ;  J.  D.  Cameron,  Harrisburg,  Pa. ;  Hon.  Thad.  Stevens 
(legacy),  S.  Appold,  Baltimore;  E.  G.  Smyser,  York,  Pa. 

Besides  this  subscription  by  Mr.  Appold,  he  gave  several  years 
ago,  $1000  for  the  use  of  the  Department  of  Chemistry  under 
Prof.  Sadtler,  and  subsequently  a  liberal  sum  for  the  purchase  of 
meteorological  instruments.     Sums  of  $500  have  been  contributed 


504  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

by  various  persons — in  some  cases  repeated.     Total  endowment 

$142,076.48. 

FACULTY. 

Dr.  S.  S.  Schmucker,  Professor  Intellectual  and  Moral  Philoso- 
phy, 1832-1833. 

Dr.  C.  P.  Krauth,  Professor  Intellectual  and  Moral  Philosophy, 
1833-1834. 

Dr.  G.  P.  Krauth,  President,  and  Professor  Intellectual  and 
Moral  Philosophy,  1834-1850. 

Dr.  E.  L.  Hazelius,  Latin  Language  and  German  Literature,  1832. 

Dr.  H.  L.  Baugher,  Greek  Language  and  Belles-Lettres,  1832- 
1850. 

Dr.  H.  L.  Baugher,  President,  and  Professor  Mental  and  Moral 
Philosophy,  1850-1868. 

Dr.  M.  Jacobs,  Professor  Mathematics,  Chemistry  and  Natural 
Philosophy,  1832-1865. 

J.  H.  Marsden,  A.  M.,  Professor  Mineralogy  and  Botany,  1832 
-1835. 

Key.  H.  I.  Smith,  A.  M.,  Professor  German  Language  and  Lit- 
erature, 1838-1843. 

M.  L.  Stoever,  A.  i'/[.,  &c..  Professor  History,  1843-1850. 

M.  L.  Stoever,  Latin  Language  and  Literature,  1851-1870. 

Rev.  C.  A.  Hay,  A.  M.,  Professor  German  Language  and  Lit- 
erature, 1844-1847. 

Rev.  "W.  M.  Reynolds,  D.  D.,  Latin  Language  and  Literature, 
1834-1849. 

Herman  Haupt,  A.  M,,  Adjunct  Professor  Mathematics,  1845- 
1847. 

F.  A.  Muhlenberg,  D.  D.,  Professor  Greek  Language  and  Liter- 
ature, 1850-1867. 

Rev.  W.  H.  Harrison,  A.  M.,  Assistant  Professor  Languages,  1845. 

0.  F.  Schaeffer,  D.  D.,  Professor  German  Language  and  Litera- 
ture, 1857-1863. 

A.  M.  Mayer,  Ph.  D.,  Ockershausen-Profess\)r  Natural  Sciences, 
1864-1866. 

Rev.  V.  L.  Conrad,  A.  M.,  Ockershausen-Professor  of  Natural 
Sciences,  1867-1870. 

S.  P.  Sadtler,  Ph.  D.,  Ockershausen-Professor  Chemistry  and 
Natural  Sciences,  1871-1S74. 

L.  H.  Croll,  A.  M.,  Professor  Mathematics  and  Astronomy,  1866. 


FIfTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  505 

Rev.  E.  Ferrier,  A.  M.,  GraefF-Professor  English  Language  and 
Literature,  1866-1873. 

Rev.  H.  Louis  Baugher,  A.  M.,  Pearson-Professor  Greek  Lan- 
guage and  Literature,  1869. 

Rev.  H.  E.  Jacobs,  A.  M.,  Franklin-Professor  Latin  Language 
and  Literature,  and  of  History,  1872. 

Rev.  J.  F.  Wilkens,  Professor  German  Language  and  Literature, 
1867. 

Rev.  F.  W.  A.  Notz,  Ph.  D.,  Professor  German  Langua'ge  and 
Literature,  1868-1869. 

Rev.  A.  Martin,  A.  M.,  Professor  German  Language  and  Liter- 
ature, 1869. 

John  A.  Himes,  A.  M.,  Graeff-Professor  English  Language  and 
Literature,  1873. 

Rev.  P.  M.  Bikle,  A.  M.,  Ockershausen-Professor  Physics  and 
Astronomy,  1874. 

Ed.  S.  Breidenbaugh,  A.  M.,  Conrad-Professor  of  Chemistry  and 
Mineralogy,  1874. 

H.  L.  Baugher,  D.  D.,  President,  1850-1868. 

M.  Valentine,  D.  D.,  President,  and  Professor  Intellectual  and 
Moral  Philosophy,  1868. 

D.  Gilbert,  M.  D.,  Lecturer  on  Anatomy  and  Physiology,  1837 
-1851. 

Rev.  Dr.  J.  G.  Morris,  Lecturer  on  Zoology,  1844-1874.. 

H.  S.  Huber,  M.  D.,  Lecturer  on  Anatomy,  1852-1865. 

These  names  are  not  put  in  their  proper  order  of  precedence  as 
to  the  time  of  their  entrance  or  their  professorships. 


WITTENBERG    COLLEGE,    SPRINGFIELD,    OHIO. 
OUIGIN   OF   THE   INSTITUTION. 

This  institution  originated  in  the  educational  and  in  the  religi- 
ous want  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  the  West,  then  so-called. 

The  members  of  the  English  Synod  of  Ohio,  at  a  convention  at 
Washington,  Guernsey  county,  in  the  month  of  November,  1842 — 

Rcsolv(.d,  "  That  in  reliance  upon  the  triune  Jehovah,  and  alone 
for  His  honor  and  glory,  we  now  establish  a  Literary  and  a  The- 
ological Institution." 


506  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

The  design  of  its  founders  combined  its  literary  and  its  theolo- 
gical departments  under  one  management. 

The  first  President  of  the  College  was  the  Rev.  Ezra  Keller, 
D.  D.,  a  graduate  of  Gettysburg  College,  Pennsylvania,  and  a 
member  of  the  class  of  1835.  At  the  time  of  his  call  to  the  insti- 
tution, March  1844,  he  was  pastor  of  the  First  English  Lutheran 
Church  of  Hagerstown,  Md. 

Dr.  Keller  opened  the  Grammar  School  of  the  College  on  the 
3d  day  of  Noveraber,  1845,  in  the  lecture-room  of  the  Firsc  Eng- 
lish Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  of  Springfield,  Ohio.  The  at- 
tendance, on  the  first  day  of  the  session,  was  eight  students  and 
a  faculty  of  one  Professor  and  two  Tutors.  This  was  increased  to 
seventy-one  before  the  close  of  the  first  year,  and  to  one  hundred 
and  forty-three  during  the  second  year.  Three  years  of  steady 
progress  passed  away  without  any  unusual  occurrence  in  the  history 
of  the  institution,  but  the  fourth  year  opened  with  an  event  which 
filled  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  friends  of  the  infant  college 
with  deep  anxiety  and  profound  sadness.  After  a  brief  illness, 
tte  summons  of  death  came  to  the  first  President  of  the  institu- 
tion, in  the  midnight  hour  of  the  29th  day  of  December,  1848. 
He  was  called  away  from  the  midst  of  his  arduous  labors,  and 
when  in  the  vigor  and  prime  of  life.  He  died  in  the  thirty -seventh 
year  of  his  a^e. 

A  friend  of  Dr.  Keller  has  observed  that  his  decease  was  brought 
upon  him  by  excessive  labor,  there  remains  but  little  doubt,  for 
he  performed  at  least  as  much  work  as  two  men  should  do. 

The  Rev.  Samuel  Sprecher,  the  second  President  of  "Wittenberg 
College,  was,  at  the  time  of  his  election,  pastor  of  the  First  Eng- 
lish Lutheran  Church  of  Chambersburg,  Pennsylvania.  He  was 
publicly  inducted  into  the  chair  of  christian  theology  in  the  Semi- 
nary, and  President  of  the  institution  on  the  14th  of  August,  1849. 
The  subject  of  his  inaugural,  being:  "What  Wittenberg  College 
should  be  and  do  in  her  Theological  Relations."  And  under  the 
masterly  leadership,  morally  and  intellectually,  of  her  second 
president,  and  in  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  her  constitution,  all 
such  measures  as  are  promotive  of  experimental  piety  and  christian 
intelligence  have  been  steadily  maintained  in  the  institution. 

The  labors  of  Dr.  Sprecher  have  been  prolonged  and  arduous 
in  the  institution,  and  during  the  term  of  his  presidency  the 
congregations  in  connection  with  the  institution  have  increased 


FIFTY    YEAKS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  507 

ten  fold  in  membership,  and  more  than  twelve  fold  in  churches 
or  houses  of  worship.  Twenty-four  classes  were  graduated  from 
the  college,  aggregating  two  hundred  and  sixteen  members  during 
the  presidency  of  Dr.  Sprecher ;  and  also  during  the  same  period 
there  were  sent  into  the  churches  from  the  Theological  Depart- 
ment of  the  College,  one  hundred  and  forty-one  ministers,  making, 
from  both  departments  of  the  institution,  three  hundred  and  fifty- 
seven.  Some  are  occupying  professors  chairs  in  Colleges  and  The- 
ological Institutions.  Thirty-four  have  entered  the  legal  pro- 
fession, and  a  still  larger  number  have  become  Principals  and 
Superintendents  in  our  Academies  and  Public  Schools,  while  not 
less  than  four  hundred  have  been  engaged  in  teaching. 

Dr.  Sprecher  resigned  the  presidency  of  the  College  on  the  10th 
day  of  June,  1874,  after  a  quarter  of  a  century  of  most  faithful 
and  successful  labor,  both  in  relation  to  the  institution  and  in 
its  influence  upon  the  churches  connected  with  it.  Dr.  Sprecher 
is  devoting  his  time  chiefly  to  the  Theological  department  of 
the  institution,  still,  however,  retaining  his  classes  in  the  de- 
partment of  Mental  Philosophy  in  the  College.  At  a  regular 
meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  at  which  time  also  the  Eev. 
J.  B.  Helwig,  then  pastor  of  the  First  English  Lutheran  Church 
of  Dayton,  Ohio,  and  a  member  of  the  class  of  1861,  was  chosen 
to  the  Presidency  of  the  College,  (1874). 

GKANTS   AND   ENDOWMENTS. 

The  citizens  of  Springfield,  at  the  founding  of  the  institution, 
partially  donated  to  it  seventeen  acres  of  ground  ;  and  the  friends 
of  the  College  abroad  have  enabled  the  Board  of  Trustees  to  pur- 
chase nineteen  acres  additional,  to  which  a  grant  of  four  acres 
has  also  been  added;  and  from  individual  benefactions  the  insti- 
tution has  thus  far  received  a  productive  endowment-fund  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  dollars. 

In  grounds,  buildings  and  endowment-fund  the  assets  of  the  in- 
stitution may  be  fairly  estimated  at  one  hundred  and  seventy-five 
thousand  dollars. 

This  does  not  include  the  value  of  the  libraries,  the  cabinet  and 
the  philosophical  apparatus. 

The  institution  has  no  indebtedness. 

FACULTY. 

Pvev.  J.  B.  Helwig,  D.  D.,  President,  and  Professor  of  Moral 
Science  and  Political  Economy. 


OUO  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Samuel  Sprecher,  D.  D.,  L.  L.  D.,  Professor  of  Mental  Pliiloso- 

H.  R.  Geiger,  A.  M.,  Ph.  D.,  Professor  of  Natural  Sciences. 

Isaac  Sprecher,  A.  M.,  Professor  of  Ancient  Languages. 

B.  F.  Prince,  A.  M.,  Professor  of  Natural  History  and  Assistant 
Professor  of  Greek. 

S.  F.  Brackenridge,  A.  M.,  Professor  of  Mathematics. 

Professor  of  Belles-Lettres  and  English  Literature.  The  duties 
of  this  Professorship  are  now  performed  by  Professors  Helwig  and 
Prince. 

Professor  of  German  Language  and  Literature.  The  duties  of 
this  Professorship  are  now  performed  by  Prof.  J.  H.  W.  Stuck- 
enberg. 

The  average  attendance  in  the  College,  for  twenty-five  years 
past,  has  been  one  hundred  and  fifty-two.  About  one  hundred 
from  abroad,  and  fifty-two  home  students,  or  within  Clarke  county. 

The  institution  was  opened  at  Wooster,  Ohio,  for  a  few  months 
only.     No  buildings  erected  there. 

The  first  session  was  opened  with'Dr.  Keller  as  President  and 
Principal  Teacher,  and  Joseph  Welty,  now  of  New  Philadelphia, 
Tutor. 

The  first  catalogue  for  1845-47  gives  the  following  as  the  fac- 
ulty : 

Eev.  Ezra  Keller,  D.  D.,  President,  and  Professor  of  Mental 
and  Moral  Science  ;  Rev.  T.  Stork  A.  M.,  Professor  (elect)  of 
Belles-Lettres,  Logic,  &c. ;  Rev.  M.  Diehl,  A.  M.,  Professor  of 
Languages;  H.  R.  Geiger,  A.  M.,  Professor  of  Mathematics; 
Jno.  A.  Ruhl  and  Morris  Officer,  Tutors ;  J.  F.  Reinmund,  Teacher 
of  Penmanship. 

The  next  catalogue,  1847-48,  has  Rev.  J.  G.  Harris  in  the  place 
of  Dr.  Stork,  and  T.  A.  Burrows,  Principal  of  Preparatory  De- 
partment, and  J.  W.  Goodlin,  Teacher  of  Penmanship. 

The  third  catalogue,  1848-49,  has  Dr.  Sprecher's  name  in  place 
of  Dr.  Keller  (deceased),  and  then  'same  as  before,  with  William 
■J.  Cutter,  Teacher  of  German. 

The  fourth  catalogue,  1849-50,  has  Dr.  Conrad's  name  instead 
of  Rev.  Harris  as  Professor  nf  Belles-Lettres,  Homiletics,  &c. 

In  1851—52  I  find  Professor  I.  Sprecher  as  Assistant  Teacher, 
and  who  became,  a  year  later  Professor  of  History  and  Principal 
of  Preparatory  Department ;  then  there  was  a  Commercial  Depart- 
ment with  E.  Harrison  as  Professor.     Rev.  A.  J.  ImhofF  was  also 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  509 

Tutor  for  a  time.  So  also,  Wm.  B.  Youce  and  Morris  Kirby.  Tn 
1854-55  Rev.  Essick  was  Professor  of  Natural  Science.  In 
1858-59  Rev.  Charles  Ehrenfeld  was  Assistant  Teacher  in  Prepar- 
atory Department,  and  in  1859-60  George  Sprecher  was  teaching 
in  that  department,  son  of  Dr.  S.  In  1804-65  Dr.  Swartz  was 
Professor  of  Church  History,  Homiletics,  &c.,  and  Professor  Ort 
Tutor.  In  1869-70  Professor  Sprecher  was  elected  to  chair  of  An- 
cient Languages.  Professor  Diehl  (deceased)  and  Professor  Prince 
Assistant  Professor  of  Greek  and  Principal  of  Preparatory  Depart- 
ment, and  Professor  Ort  Assistant  Professor  of  Mathematics,  and 
that  was  the  Faculty  until  the  present,  according  to  the  catalogue 
of  1876. 


COLLEGE    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA. 

When  the  Theological  Seminary  of  this  Synod  was  established, 
in  1831,  at  Lexington,  arrangements  were  made  for  the  opening 
of  a  classical  school  under  the  name  of  The  Lexington  Institute, 
and  in  1848  efforts  began  to  be  made  to  elevate  it  to  the  rank  of 
a  college,  and  for  ten  years  there  was  a  vigorous  contest  between 
several  villages  in  which  of  them  the  institution  should  be  finally 
located,  for  it  was  conceded  that  Lexington  was  not  the  proper 
place.  In  1859  both  the  college  and  seminary  were  removed  to 
Newberry.  At  the  meeting  of  the  Synod  soon  after.  Rev.  Dr.  J. 
A.  Brown  was  elected  Professor  of  Theology  in  the  seminary  and 
Professor  of  Latin  in  the  college.  Rev.  Dr.  T.  Stork  was  elected 
President  of  the  College,  Rev.  C.  A.  Stork  Professor  of  Greek, 
Mr.  Garlington  Professor  of  Mathematics,  Rev.  M.  Whittle,  Prin- 
cipal of  the  Preparatory  Department,  and  Mr.  A.  P.  Pifer  Assis- 
tant. Early  in  1800  the  college  went  into  actual  operation,  and 
the  inauguration  services  were  held  in  October,  1860,  at  a  church 
six  miles  east  of  the  village  !  The  beginning  was  hopeful  and 
encouraging,  but  early  in  1861  circumstances  occurred  which  led 
Dr.  Stork  to  resign  and  leave  in  March.  Soon  after  Prof.  C.  A. 
Stork  also  left,  and  his  place  was  supplied  until  the  end  of  the 
session  by  Rev.  C.  F.  Bansemer.  Dr.  Brown  was  then  elected, 
but  he  left  in  1862,  owing  to  the  breaking  out  of  the  rebel  war. 
Rev.  J.  P.  Smeltzer  succeeded  him.     Rev.  F.  R.  Anspach  had  been 


510  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

previously  elected,  but  declined.  An  over-zealous  advocate  of 
Mr.  Anspach's  election  repre.sented  him  as  "  one  of  us,  being  born 
in  Virginia."  The  young  men  went  into  the  rebel  army,  and  the 
college  degenerated  to  a  village  school.  The  building  had  been 
carelessly  erected  and  of  bad  materials.  The  walls  cracked  and 
it  soon  became  a  heap  of  ruins.  All  the  funds  were  lost  in  con- 
federate bonds  and  broken  banks,  and  the  prospects  were  gloomy. 

Walhalla,  a  German  settlement  in  the  north-west  corner  of  South 
Carolina,  was  the  unsuccessful  competitor  with  Newberry  for  the 
location  of  the  College,  and  in  1868,  when  the  institution  was  al- 
most extinct  at  the  latter  place.  President  Smeltzer,  representing 
the  college,  removed  to  Walhalla,  the  people  of  which  offered  the 
institution  "  a  temporary  home"  bearing  the  name  of  "  Newberry 
College  at  Walhalla."  In  1876  it  was  transferred  again  to  New- 
berry. In  1877  all  the  faculty  resigned  and  new  professors  were 
elected.     A  correspondent  writes  thus  : 

"  When  Newberry  was  originally  established  several  persons 
each  gave  ^1000  for  the  erection  of  buildings.  The  college  became 
involved  in  debt,  and  the  building  was  defective  and  was  injured 
by  the  federal  troops  during  the  war.  The  institution  was  re- 
moved to  Walhalla,  S.  C,  and  the  sheriff  sold  the  college  property 
here.     This  was,  I  think,  in  1868. 

"  II.  The  property  did  not  pay  the  fourth  of  the  debts.  In 
September,  1876,  the  j^arties  holding  claims  released  them  as  fol- 
lows:  Maj.  J.  P.  Kinard  assigned  his  claim  to  South  Carolina 
Synod,  amounting  to  $13,700,  exclusive  of  interest;  Mr.  W.  A. 
Cline  $3800,  exclusive  of  interest;  Capt.  A.  P.  Pifer  $1,644.65, 
exclusive  of  interest ;  Capt.  J.  P.  Aull  $300,  exclusive  of  interest ; 
Mr.  W.  Johnson  $36,  exclusive  of  interest. 

"  III.  Our  college  has  again  returned  to  Newberry.  The  old 
building  was  taken  down,  and  a  new  one  is  now  being  erected  on 
the  same  grounds.  One  man,  Mr.  John  D.  Cash,  gives  $1000  to- 
wards the  building,  others  less,  &c.  We  are  raising  an  endowment 
for  Newberry  College ;  have  an  agent  in  the  field — Rev.  S.  P. 
Hughes ;  have  about  $12,000  in  bonds. 


ANSGARI    COLLEGE. 


Ansgari  College  is  the  name  of  an  institution  established  for 
the  benefit  of  the  Swedes  mainly  through  the  influence  of  Rev. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  511 

C.  Amlerson.  It  was  commenced  at  Keokuk,  on  October  1,  1873, 
and  jlien  was  known  a;s  the  Swedish  Evangelical  Lutheran  Mission 
Institute.  It  was  incorporated  in  June,  1875,  and  removed  to 
l^noxville,  III.,  because  of  its  more  convenient  and  central  position. 

The  citizens  of  Knoiville  offered  the  institute  fifteen  thousand 
dollars,  of  which  amount  the  lion.  James  Knox  gave  at  various 
times  twelve  thousand  nine  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  He  died 
October  9,  1876,  and  although  his  residence  was  near  the  building 
which  his  liberality  so  essentially  helped  to  erect,  he  was  never 
known  to  have  been  inside  of  it. 

The  College  has  no  endowment  whatever,  but  depends  upon  the 
fees  of  students  and  the  contributions  of  the  church,  for  its  sup- 
port. It  is  said  the  prospects  for  doing  good  are  encouraging,  but 
it  needs  the  fostering  care  of  our  people,  for  the  Swedes  are 
genernlly  poor. 

The  present  corps  of  teachers  is : 

Rev.  C.  Anderson,  Principal  Latin  and  Theology. 

Rev.  John  Aujou,  Greek,  Theology  and  Swedish. 

Rev.  J.  Angus  Lowe,  Mathematics  and  English  Literature. 

Miss  Sophia  Larkee,  assistant  teacher  in  Mathematics-  and 
English  Branches. 

These  teachers  receive  from  three  hundred  dollars  to  four 
hundred  dollars  a  year.  There  are  now  (February,  18?7)  fifty- 
three  students,  of  whom  fifteen  are  destined  for  the  ministry. 
The  present  Theological  Class  consists  of  eight. 

Eight  beneficiaries  are  supported  at  an  expense  of  five  hundred 
dollars. 

There  is  only  one  Swedish  Synod  in  connection  with  the  Gen- 
eral Synod,  called  Ansgari,  organized  in  May,  1873,  consisting  of 
fifteen  ministers,  which  is  double  the  number  that  there  was  two 
years  ago. 

There  are  twelve  congregations  in  the  Synod. 


ROANOKE   COLLEGE,    SALEM,    VA. 

In  the  year  1842  Rev.  C.  C.  Baughman  located  himself  in 
Augusta  county,  Va.,  where  he  founded,  in  connection  with  Rev. 
D.  F.  Bittle,  a  classical  school.  Rev.  Bittle  was  at  that  time  in 
charge  of   Mt.  Tabor   congregation    and    others   of  the   county. 


512  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Rev.  Bangliman  was  to  devote  all  his  time  to  teaching,  Rev.  Bittle 
two  days  in  the  week.  The  school  was  called  the  ""Virginia 
Institute."  It  flourished,  and  established  thus  by  individual 
enterprise,  soon  claimed  the  attention  of  the  Virginia  Synods. 
Pennsylvania  College,  to  which  it  was  an  avowed  feeder,  realized 
no  mean  supplies  from  the  institute  in  the  way  of  students.  In 
1844  Rev.  Bittle  removed  to  the  Middletown,  Md.,  charge,  and 
J.  Edward  Herbst,  a  graduate  of  Pennsylvania  College,  was 
appointed  his  successor  in  the  institute  in  1846.  On  the  30th  of 
January,  1845,  the  school  was  incorporated  by  the  State  Legis- 
lature under  the  name  "  Virginia  Collegiate  Institute."  The 
Synods  now  began  to  agitate  the  removal  of  the  institute  to  a 
more  central  point  and  in  1847,  this  removal  was  effected  to  Salem, 
Roanoke  county,  its  present  location.  In  the  year  1848  the 
erection  of  buildings  began,  exercises  being  carried  on  meanwhile 
in  buildings  proffered  by  the  citizens  of  Salem.  The  central 
part  of  the  main  building  was  erected  first.  In  1851  the  west 
wing  was  built.  Meanwhile  grounds  were  laid  out  and  trees 
planted.  The  Campus  is  now  very  beautiful.  In  1853  the 
charter  was  obtained  changing  the  "Institute"  into  a  College, 
and  Rev.  Bittle  was  called  to  its  presidency.  Rev.  Baughman 
having  removed  to  Hagerstown  Md.,  Prof.  S.  C.  Wells  was  placed 
in  the  chair  of  Mathematics,  and  Prof.  Henri  G.  Von  Hoxar  in 
that  of  Ancient  Languages.     This  was  the  first  Faculty. 

■The  buildings  and  grounds  were  at  this  time  worth  about 
ten  thousand  dollars,  with  liabilities  of  about  eight  thousand 
dollars. 

The  buildings  have  all  been  erected  and  other  improvements 
made  by  donations  from  abroad,  none  of  which  ever  amounted  to 
over  one  thousand  dollars  from  any  one  party.  The  institute  has 
no  endowment.  The  Library,  collected  by  the  active  energies  of 
Dr.  Bittle  and  the  kindness  of  friends,  now  amounts  to  between 
ten  thousand  and  fourteen  thousand  volumes,  mostly  well-selected 
reference  works.  Included  in  this  is  the  Library  of  Dr.  S.  S. 
Schmucker,  of  Gettysburg,  purchased  by  subscription. 

Apparatus  is  increasing  in  value.  Mineral  Cabinet  is  very 
valuable,  next  to  that  of  the  University  the  most  valuable  in  the 
State. 

Students  have  increased  in  number  constantly  from  the  foun- 
dation of  the  institution,  commencing  at  the  number  sixty  and 


FIFTY    YEARS   IK    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  513 

reacliing  now  one  hundred  and  eighty.     This  has  been  effected  by 
wide-spread  agencies  and  advertisements  throughout  the  South. 

Out  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  graduates  forty-eight  have 
entered  the  ministry.  A  large  proportion  of  those  who  did  not 
finish  the  course  have  entered  the  sacred  office,  what  proportion  I 
could  not  say. 


MUHLENBERG    COLLEGE. 

Muhlenberg  College  commenced  as  such  in  the  fall  of  1867. 
First  class  graduated  in  summer  of  1868. 

The  Faculty  was  originally  constituted  as  follows  :  Rev.  Dr.  F. 
A.  Muhlenberg,  President ;  Rev.  E.  J.  Koons,  Vice-President  ; 
Rev.  M.  H.  Richards,  Latin  and  English  ;  Rev.  H,  N.  RiJss,  Ger- 
man ;  Rev.  T  L.  Seip,  Principal  Academic  Department ;  Luther 
A.  Swope,  Tutor. 

Rev.  W.  Xotz  afterwards  took  the  place  of  Ri'iss  in  German.  He 
was  succeeded  by  Rev.  G.  F.  Miller,  as  German  Professor. 

Mr.  Seip  soon  became  Professor  of  Latin  in  the  college  proper, 
and  still  holds  the  position. 

Davis  Garber  was  early  chosen  as  Professor  of  Mathematics,  and 
still  occupies  the  place. 

Rev.  R.  F.  Weidner,  an  alumnus,  served  for  two  years  as  Pro- 
fessor of  English  Department,  closing  with  last  college  year. 

Rev.  Dr.  Sadtler  was  recently  called  to  the  Presidency  as  suc- 
cessor of  Dr.  M.  Rev.  M.  H.  Richards  was  recalled  as  Professor 
of  the. English  Department  after  an  absence  of  three  years  from 
the  institution. 

Rev.  R.  Hill  has  been  doing  some  teaching  since  beginning  of 
present  college  year. 

T.  J.  Yeager,  M.  D.,  has  also  served  as  Professor  of  Chemistry. 
He  was  son  of  Rev.  Joshua  Yeager.     He  is  now  deceased. 

W.  A.  Beates  has  been  for  several  years  at  the  head  of  the 
Academic  Department. 

The  Faculty  is  now  constituted  thus :  Rev.  B.  Sadtler,  D.  D., 
President ;  Rev.  T.  L.  Seip,  Latin,  &c. ;  Rev.  M.  H.  Richards, 
Greek,  &c. ;  Davis  Garber,  Mathematics;  Rev.  G.  F.  Miller,  Ger- 
man, &c. ;  W.  A.  Beates,  Principal  of  Preparatory  Department. 


514  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

The  number  of  students  at  this  time  scarcely  reaches  one  hun- 
dred, due  largely  to  the  "hard  times."  An  average  yearly  at- 
tendance from  the  beginning  would  be  about  one  hundred  and 
thirty  or  one  hundred  and  forty.  Another  consideration  thfit  has 
influenced  the  number  of  students  is  that  it  could  not  be  deter- 
min^fd  exactly  what  kind  of  an  institution  was  wanted.  Some  of 
the  Germans  preferred  more  of  a  church  school  ;  most  of  the  Eng- 
lish wanted  a  college  in  the  proper  American  sense.  The  conflict 
of  language  lias  had  a  damaging  influence  likewise.  The  Germans 
would  have  too  much  German,  the  English  too  little,  and  so  some 
German  pastors  sent  their  students  elsewhere. 

It  is  hard  to  tell  exactly  how  many  of  the  students  are  looking 
towards  the  ministry.  I  think  a  safe  estimate  would  be  about 
one-fourth  of  the  whole  number. 

I  learn  from  one  who  has  a  good  deal  to  do  with  the  finances 
that  the  present  endowment  is  $58,000,  and  that  the  largest  do- 
nation from  any  individual  is  $1000.  Of  this  latter  class  the 
number  is  considerable,  and  Prof.  Seip,  who  has  been  collecting 
for  nearly  a  year,  has  added  considerably  to  this.  He  has  raised 
upwards  of  $20,000  since  he  commenced  his  operations.  His  mis- 
sion among  the  churches  has  been  highly  successful  for  these  times. 

The  college  library  contains  about  twelve  hundred  volumes  ; 
each  of  the  literary  societies  has  a  similar  number. 

The  apparatus  is  said  to  be  quite  respectable  for  a  young  insti- 
tution, but  cannot  give  you  any  particulars. 

A  movement  has  recently  been  started  to  endow  a  German- 
Brohst  Professorship}  as  a  memorial  of  Rev.  S.  K.  B,,  recently  de- 
ceased, and  to  whose  labors  the  college  owes  much. 

The  college  has  been  heavily  burdened  with  debt  for  some  years. 
Too  much  money  was  put  into  brick  and  mortar.  But  the  success 
of  Prof  Seip  seems  to  be  an  augury  of  better  days. 


WARTBURG    SEMINARY, 


Wartburg  Seminary  was  founded  in  1854,  at  Dubuque,  Iowa, 
but.  removed  to  Mendota  in  1874.  The  present  (1877)  number 
of  students  is  thirty-one,  but  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  have 
been  connected  with  it  from  its  beginning.  Eighty-two  of  them 
have  entered  the  ministry.  The  amount  of  endowment  does  not 
exceed  $8000. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  515 

The  Professors  fire  Rev.  Sigm.  Fritscliel,  llev.  Gottfr.  Fritschei 
and  Rev.  F.  Richter. 

In  connection  with  Wartburg  Seminary  there  is  a  classical 
school,  called  Evangelical  Lutheran  Collegium,  which  was  founded 
in  Galena,  111.,  in  1868,  and  moved  to  Mendota  in  1875.  There 
are  at  present  twenty-five  students,  and  there  have  been  about 
eighty  from  the  beginning.  Twenty-one  of  the  present  number 
are  preparing  for  the  ministry. 

Faculty,  Revs.  J.  List,  C.  H.  Thilo,  Sigm.  Fritschei,  G.  Frit- 
schei, F.  Richter. 


LUTHER    COLLEGE. 

Luther  College  is  now  a  Swedish  institution,  and  was  founded 
at  Decorah,  Iowa,  in  1861,  under  other  auspices.  The  present 
number  of  students  is  one  hundred  and  seventy,  and  from  the 
beginning  about  seven  hundred  and  eighty-eight.  Fifty-seven  of 
these  have  entered  the  ministry,  and  nearly  one  hundred  of  the 
present  number  are  preparing  for  it.  Mr.  Beck,  of  St.  Louis,  gave 
$1000  for  the  support  of  the  institution,  and  various  other  dona- 
tions of  smaller  sums  have  been  made. 

Faculty,  Prof.  L.  Larsen,  President;  Rev.  N.  Brandt,  Pastor; 
Professors  J.  D.  Jacobsen,  L.  Siewers,  Th.  Bothne,  L.  S.  Reque ; 
A.  Bredisen  and  C.  Norvesen,  Assistants. 


CARTHAGE    COLLEGE,    ILL. 

An  educational  convention  was  held  at  Dixon,  111.,  in  the  au- 
tumn of  1869,  to  harmonize  and  marshal  the  elements  that  had 
been  somewhat  conflicting  and  scattered.  The  Synods  of  Xorth- 
ern.  Central  and  Southern  Illinois,  and  the  Synod  of  Iowa,  co-op- 
erated in  the  movement,  and  resolved  to  unite  their  efforts  to 
establish  one  institution  in  lieu  of  the  colleges  they  had  striven  to 
maintain  independently.  Carthage  College  embodies  the  rem- 
nants of  three  or  four  other  institutions.  The  coming  together 
was  by  the  law  of  "  elective  afiinity."  The  Kansas  and  the  Ne- 
braska Synods  have  joined  the  Union,  and  the  other  territories 
will  by  and  by  be  admitted.  Carthage,  therefore,  claims  to  be  the 
General  Synod's  educational  capital  of  her  territory  west  of  Indiana. 


516  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Our  endowment  is  $45,000. 

We  have  about  two  thousand  volumes ;  apparatus  worth  |600 
— good  as  far  as  it  goes.  We  have  a  very  choice  collection  of  rarer 
minerals,  which  I  bought  from  an  amateur  mineralogist  for  $500 
— half-price. 

Largest  gift — Dr.  Kitzmiller's  estate,  with  consent  of  his  daugh- 
ter, through  the  kind  offices  of  Dr.  Conrad — $12,500.  Dr.  Conrad 
personally  subscribed  $1000  ;  Wm.  P.  Miller  subscribed  $1000  ; 
several,  $500  each. 

Average  number  of  students  two  hundred. 

Have  had  five  hundred  students. 

Our  first  graduate  is  just  ready  to  enter  the  ministry.  About 
forty  preparing  in  different  classes. 

Buildings  and  grounds  worth  $50,000.  The  main  building  is  a 
large,  four-story,  brick  edifice — all  parts  of  it  devoted  to  school 
purposes.  The  dormitories  are  separate,  flanking  the  college 
building,  and  contain  fifty  rooms. 

FACULTY  AND  INSTRUCTORS. 

Kev.  D.  L.  Tressler,  Ph.  D.,  President,  and  Professor  of  Mental 
and  Moral  Science. 

L.  F.  M.  Easterday,  A.  M.,  Professor  of  Mathematics  and  As- 
tronomy. 

Eev.  J.  AV.  Richard,  A.  M.,  Professor  of  the  Latin  Language 
and  History. 

Rev.  E.  F.  Bartholomew,  A.  M.,  Professor  of  Chemistry  and 
Natural  Sciences. 

Rev.  E.  F.  Giese,  A.  M.,  Professor  of  the  Greek  and  German 
Languages. 

Rev.  John  Brubaker,  A.  M.,  Professor  of  English  Language  and 
Literature. 

P.  M.  Fasold,  A.  B.,  Tutor. 

Mrs.  M.  B.  Fry,  Teacher  of  Music. 


THIEL    COLLEGE,    GREENVILLE,    PA. 

This  institution  derives  its  name  from  Mr.  A.  Louis  Thiel,  a 
liberal  German  gentleman  who  has  been  its  chief  patron.  As  far 
back  as  1866  he  placed  four  thousand  five  hundred   dollars  in 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  517 

the  hands  of  a  few  friends  who  had  contemplated  the  establishment 
of  a  Lutheran  school  in  Western  Pennsylvania.  In  that  year,  a 
property  was  purchased  in  Philipsburg,  Beaver  county,  Pa.,  for 
four  thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  and  a  few  months  later  an 
adjoining  house  and  lot  were  bought  at  one  thousand  dollars, 
and  an  edifice  was  erected  which  was  called  "  Thiel  Hall."  A 
school  was  opened  under  the  instruction  of  Rev.  Prof.  Giese.  Mr. 
Kopp  was  added  to  the  list  of  teachers  in  the  course  of  a  year. 
Mr.  Giese  left  for  New  York,  after  which  Prof.  H.  E.  Jacobs,  now 
of  Gettysburg,  and  Prof.  Feitshans,  conducted  the. school  for  two 
years.  It  was  incorporated  as  a  college  in  1870.  The  two  gentle- 
men just  named  resigned,  when  Rev.  Messrs.  H.  W.  Roth,  AV.  F. 
Ulery  and  D.  McKee  took  charga  of  it.  The  college  was  removed 
to  Greenville  in  1871,  where  a  fine  building  has  been  built  and 
where  the  college  has  flourished  to  a  very  encouraging  extent.  It 
is  the  most  thoroughly  Lutheran  English  College  in  our  church. 

Before  Mr.  Thiel  died  he  placed  in  the  hands  of  trustees  securi- 
ties which  realized  the  sum  of  twenty -five  thousand  dollars,  and 
the  residue  of  his  estate,  after  the  payment  of  some  legacies,  is 
eventually  to  be  tran.sferred  to  the  college. 

The  present  Faculty  are  Rev.  H.  W.  Roth,  A.  M.,  Rev.  H.  Gil- 
bert, A.  M.,  Rev.  D.  McKee,  A.  M.,  Rev.  J.  R.  Titzel,  A.  M., 
and  Jno.  E.  Whitteker,  A.  B.,  Tutor. 

Within  a  year  or  two  the  farm  of  Mr.  Samuel  Ridgway,  adja- 
cent to  the  college  grounds,  consisting  of  forty  acres,  having 
thereon  erected  two  good  dwelling  houses,  a  large  barn,  and  all 
other  necessary  outbuildings,  well  watered,  and  having  an  excel- 
lent orchard,  was  purchased  at  a  cost  of  nine  thousand  five 
hundred  dollars.  Four  thousand  dollars  paid  April  1st,  1876,  the 
remaining  four  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  payable  in  two 
annual  payments  from  April  1st,  1876,  with  interest  at  six  per 
cent,  per  annum. 

The  reasons  influencing  the  Board  in  this  purchase  were : 

1st.  That  by  having  control  of  the  land  adjacent  to  the  college 
grounds,  they  could  control  the  uses  to  which  it  could  be  put,  and 
thereby  prevent  the  projection  of  any  improvements  deemed 
hurtful  or  undesirable,  or  disadvantageous  to  the  institution. 

2d.  That  at  a  nominal  expense,  the  main  house  could  be  fitted 
up  to  answer  the  purpose  of  a  boarding-house,  and  thus  the  im- 
mediate and  pressing  want  of  the  college  could  be  supplied  ;  and, 

33 


518  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

3d.  That  it  was  safe  and  judicious. 

With  this  last  purchase  the  college  has  become  the  owner  of 
sixty-three  acres  of  land. 

Rents  and  subscriptions  for  the  year  past  have  been  $2,476.00. 

The  Treasurer's  books  show  that  there  were  received  on  interest 
of  the  Thiel  Endowment  Fund,  $2,105.40. 

There  were  in  attendance,  the  past  year,  seventy-five  students ; 
of  these  five  were  Seniors,  three  Juniors,  five  Sophomores,  seven 
Freshmen,  seventeen  Senior  and  thirty-five  Junior  Academicians. 

About  six  hundred  students  have  been  in  attendance  from  1866 
to  1876.  Twelve  are  in  the  ministry,  twelve  studying  Theology, 
and  twelve  in  college  looking  towards  the  ministry. 


CONCORDIA   COLLEGE. 


Concordia  College,  in  St.  Louis,  was  founded  in  Altenburg, 
Mo.,  in  1839,  and  was  removed  to  the  former  place  in  1849.  Con- 
nected with  this  there  is  a  theological  school  (Prediger  Seminar) 
which  they  designate  as  "  Theoretisch  "  in  distinction  from  the 
"  Praktische "  at  Springfield,  111.  These  are  badly  chosen  dis- 
tinctive terms,  which  the  Missourians  themselves  acknowledge. 

The  Seminary  at  St.  Louis  furnishes  a  thorough  theological 
course  similar  to  that  of  a  German  University,  and  only  such  who 
have  gone  through  the  Gymnasium,  and  are  well  versed  in  Latin 
and  Greek,  and  have  made  a  beginning  in  Hebrew,  are  admitted. 

The  following  are  the  Professors  who  are  or  have  been  connected 
with  it : 

C.  F.  W.  Walther,  since  1849 ;  J.  J.  Goenner,  died  1864  r  A. 
Biewend,  died  1858 ;  G.  Seyfath,  from  1857  to  1863 ;  E.  Preuss, 
1870-71,  (an  aj^ostate  and  now  editor  of  Roman  Catholic  Political 
Journal,  "  Amerika,"  in  St.  Louis)  ;  P.  Lange,  from  1858  to  1860, 
now  pastor  in  Chicago;  A.  Schmidt,  Norwegian  Professor, 
1873-76;  G.  Schaller,  since  1873;  M.  Giinther,  since  1874;  A. 
Cramer  was  in  St.  Louis  1860-74,  but  in  the  Practical  Seminary. 

PRACTICAL    SEMINARY. 

The  Practical  Seminary,  now  in  Springfield,  is  designed  for 
students  who  have  not  received  a  thorough  preliminary  training, 
and  who  are  prepared  to  preach  without  pursuing  a  full  course. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  519 

They  are  not  taught  any  ancient  language  except  Latin.  It  is 
equivalent  to  the  Missionary  Institute  at  Selinsgrove.  It  was 
first  opened  in  Fort  Wayne  in  1846 ;  was  removed  to  St.  Louis  in 
1860,  and,  in  1874,  was  transferred  to  Springfield,  111. 

THE    GYMNASIUM. 

The  Gymnasium,  at  Fort  Wayne,  was  also  founded  in  Alten- 
berg.  Perry  county.  Mo.,  in  1830 ;  was  removed  to  St.  Louis  the 
same  year,  and,  in  1860,  was  finally  located  at  Fort  Wayne. 

DAS    SCHULLEHRER    SEMINAR. 

The  Seminary  for  training  teachers  (Das  Schullehrer  Seminar) 
was  founded  in  Fort  Wayne  in  1846,  and  removed  to  Addison,  111., 
1864. 

PRO-SEMINAR. 

The  Pro-Seminar  is  a  preparatory  school  for  those  not  qualified 
to  enter  the  Seminary. 

None  of  these  institutions  have  any  endowment.  The  highest 
salary  paid  is  twelve  hundred  dollars  per  annum,  ranging  down 
to  nine  hundred  dollars,  with  free  dwelling. 

The  College  and  Seminary  edifice  at  St.  Louis  is  one  hundred 
and  forty  feet  long ;  that  at  Fort  Wayne  one  hundred  and  eighty  ; 
that  at  Addison,  two  hundred  and  six. 


COLUMBUS    UNIVERSITY,    OHIO. 


I  made  several  efforts  to   get  the  history  of  this  institution, 
but  no  attention  was  paid  to  my  requests. 


520  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 


Baneticiapy  Education  and  the  Parent  Education  Society, 


Beneficiary  education  re>;eived  no  attention  systematically  from 
our  church  in  this  country  until  the  establishment  of  our  institu- 
tions at  CTettysburg.  In  this  good  work,  as  in  most  others,  we 
find  the  Synod  of  Maryland  taking  the  initiative.  As  far  back  as 
1831,  and  earlier  in  her  history,  we  find  this  Synod  active  in  her 
collections  for  missions  and  education. 

No  formal  action  was  had  by  the  Church  until  the  meeting  of 
the  General  Synod  in  1835.  During  the  sessions  of  Synod  a  con- 
vention, which  had  been  previously  called,  was  held,  and  resulted 
in  the  formation  of  the  first  General  Society,  which  then  received 
the  name  of  The  Parent  JEducation  Society  of  the  Evangelical 
Lutheran  Church.  The  constitution  which  was  adopted  was 
signed  by  the  delegates  from  the  Synods  of  South  and  North  Car- 
olina, Maryland,  Virginia,  "West  Pennsylvania  and  Hartwick.  The 
operations  of  the  Society  were  to  be  conducted  by  a  Board  of  Di- 
rectors, composed  of  one  member  from  each  of  the  Synods. 

The  framers  of  this  constitution  proposed,  by  the  distribution 
of  directors  over  the  whole  Church,  to  secure  the  co-operation  of 
all,  and  emphatically  make  the  society  general.  The  object  was 
good,  but  the  mode  of  securing  it  was  a  remarkable  failure.  The 
nearest  directors  lived  fifty,  and  several  of  them  three  hundred 
miles  apart,  and  the  result  was  that,  under  the  first  organization, 
they  never  held  a  meeting.  Such  was  the  extremely  deficient  and 
even  culpable  management  of  some  church  operations  of  that  day. 
This  was  not  the  only  one  that  displayed  a  lamentable  degree  of 
foresight  in  the  men  who  controlled  the  Church. 

I  remember  giving  great  offence  to  an  old  minister  by  objecting 
to  having  men  put  on  important  committees,  requiring  meetings 
during  the  year,  who  lived  "  over  the  mountains."  I  had  no  di- 
rect reference  to  him,  but  he  rebuked  me  severely  and  said  that 
some  "  beardless  ministerial  boys  were  a  little  forward."  I  meekly 
submitted,  but  everybody  soon  found  out  that  I  was  right. 

As  the  organization  of  1835  was  found  to  be  impracticable,  a 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  521 

reorganization  was  effected  in  1837,  at  the  meeting  of  the  General 
Synod  in  Hagerstown.  An  improved  constitution  was  adopted, 
according  to  which  theadministration  of  the  affairs  of  the  society 
was  phiced  in  the  hands  of  an  executive  committee,  composed  of 
twelve.  The  provisions  for  the  education  of  indigent  young  men 
for  the  ministry  were  complete  and  liberal. 

During  the  first  two  years  ending  in  October,  1837,  the  whole 
number  received  on  the  funds  was  forty-one,  and  the  receipts  into 
the  treasury  were  $4449.  In  1839  the  number  was  fifty-three,  and 
the  amount  collected  was  $6722.  In  1841  the  number  receiving 
aid  was  sixty-seven,  and  the  receipts  $6810.  In  1843  the  number 
of  beneficiaries  was  fifty-seven,  the  receipts  $5911.  In  1845  the 
number  aided  was  forty-four,  the  receipts  were  $6198,  leaving  a 
debt  of  $2504.  The  next  step  we  take  covers  three  years  and 
reaches  to  1848.  The  society  began  to  decline.  The  whole  sum 
paid  in  was  $8394,  and  the  number  sustained  was  only  seventeen. 
But  the  interest  in  the  society  seemed  to  revive  in  1850,  when  the 
number  on  the  funds  was  forty-two  and  the  receipts  $2956. 

From  this  time  on,  individual  Synods  assumed  the  control  of 
beneficiary  education  within  their  own  bounds,  and  the  Parent 
Society  necessarily  expired.  It  accomplished  much  good  in  its 
day.  It  has  been  instrumental  in  introducing  into  the  ministry 
about  one  hundred  and  twenty  men,  many  of  whom  were  useful 
and  faithful  pastors, 

I  have  no  means  of  determining  precisely  the  number  of  bene- 
ficiaries supported  b\'  the  various  Synods,  but  it  is  safe  to  calculate 
that  more  than  three-fourths  of  the  theological  students  were  of 
that  character. 

The  cause  has  undergone  various  fluctuations.  Owing  to  some 
failures  and  some  secessions  on  the  part  of  students,  many  persons 
have  withdrawn  their  suj^port,  although  the  proportion  of  such 
failures  has  not  been  large. 

The  cause  itself  will  always  remain  a  good  one,  but  the  mode 
of  prosecuting  it  as  we  have  practiced  it  may  not  have  been  the 
best,  and  yet  it  is  not  easy  to  suggest  a  better  one. 


522  FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 


ORIGIN  AND  HISTORY  OF  THEOLOGICAL  EDUCATION 


IN    OUR    CHURCH    IN    THIS    COUNTRY. 


Dr.  Kunze  arrived  in  America  in  1770,  thirty-two  years  after 
tlie  coming  of  the  elder  Muhlenberg,  and  it  was  only  then  that 
the  first  successful  efforts  were  made  to  establish  a  school  of  a  high 
order  for  the  benefit  of  our  German  population.  Muhlenberg  and 
his  few  fellow-laborers  devoted  all  their  time  to  the  active  duties 
of  their  sacred  office,  and  had  no  means  and  no  encouragement  to 
found  any  school  for  advanced  education. 

Kunze  gives  a  disheartening  account  of  the  condition  of  the 
Germans  in  a  letter  to  the  Orphan  Plouse  at  Halle,  (Hallische 
Nachrichten,  p.  1377),  when  he  says :  "  The  Germans  here  are,  in 
general,  not  very  desirous  of  acquiring  any  scientific  knowledge, 
as  they  see  very  little  opportunity  before  them  of  deriving  any 
worldly  advantage  from  it,  and  hence  they  have  little  conception 
of  more  extended  education.  The  English  among  us  judge  of 
all  Germany  from  this  low  standard  set  up  by  our  people."  He 
accounts  for  this  condition  of  things  by  adding,  "  The  Germans  are 
composed, /or  the  most  part,  of  those  inhabitants  of  the  Palatinate, 
•  Wurtemberg  and  Alsace,  who,  in  their  native  country,  belonged 
to  the  lower  classes,  and  were  oppressed  with  extreme  poverty." 
No  enlarged  views  on  the  subject  of  education  or  of  any  other 
could  be  expected  of  such  men,  and  although  some  of  the  Ger- 
man preachers  were  men  of  extensive  theological  training,  they 
could  do  nothing  more  towards  establishing  a  high  school  than 
gradually  educating  the  people  up  to  the  idea. 

Dr.  Kunze  was  indefatigable  in  his  efforts  to  lay  the  foundation 
of  a  school  which  should  be  permanent  and  elevating  in  its  influ- 
ence on  the  Germans.  He  writes  that  he  "  has  discovered  in  him- 
self a  peculiar  proclivity  to  be  engaged  in  a  school  in  which  the  lan- 
guages and  sciences  are  taught,  and  that,  notwithstanding  his  mul- 
tiplied duties,  he  is  burdened  with  the  conception  of  establishing 
an  institution  of  this  description  among  the  Germans  of  Pennsyl- 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  523 

vania."  He  tlioiight  that  if  he  could,  by  any  honest  means,  be- 
come the  possessor  of  twenty  pounds,  he  would  purchase  the  first 
German  student  who  was  encumbered  with  the  debt  of  his  pas- 
sage to»this  country,  and  commence  a  Latin  school  in  an  upper 
chamber  of  his  dwelling."  (Hallische  Nachrichten,  1375-loS5). 
The  next  day  a  Mr.  Leps,  a  student  from  the  University  of  Halle, 
unincumbered,  but  poor,  presented  himself.  The  proposition  is 
ah  once  made  that  he  open  a  classical  school,  and  notice  to  that 
effect  is  published  in  the  papers  of  the  city.  No  sooner  did  this 
appear  than  one  of  the  most  respectable  members  of  the  Lutheran 
congregation  came  to  the  assistance  of  Kunze,  who,  with  another 
of  similar  spirit,  obtained  the  requisite  number  of  subscribers. 
An  association  is  formed  with  the  title,  "  The  Society  for  the 
advancement  of  Christianity  and  all  useful  knowledge  among  the 
Germans  in  America."  Mr.  Leps  was  employed,  and  the  school 
was  opened  in  the  presence  of  the  subscribers,  with  singing  and 
prayer,  on  February  17th,  1773.  The  beginning  was  small  (with 
only  fifteen  scholars),  but  the  conception  was  worthy  of  a  lofty 
and  christian  mind.* 

Out  of  this  association  was  to  grow  an  orphan  and  an  alms- 
house, the  seat  of  a  mission  to  the  Indians,  and,  before  them  all,  in 
point  of  time,  a  University  in  which  were  to  be  taught  the  higher 
branches  of  science,  English  law,  medicine  and  theology.  Frey- 
linghausen,  of  Halle,  expressed  his  warmest  approbation  of  this  en- 
terprise.    (Hallische  Nachrichten,  pp.  1504-10). 

The  war  of  the  Revolution  in  1776  interfered  sei'iously  with 
Kunze's  plans  and  temporarily  suspended  his  efforts.  The  school 
was,  however,  in  existence  in  1779.  During  this  year  the  LTniver- 
sity  of  Pennsylvania  was  established  in  Philadelphia  under  the 
auspices  of  the  State,  and  Kunze  was  elected  a  trustee.  He  was 
one  of  a  committee  of  five  to  report  a  plan  for  the  University. 
He  had  sufficient  influence  to  secure  the  appointment  of  a  German 
Professor  of  Theology,  with  a  Tutor  as  Assistant,  while  the  Ger- 
man students  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  daily  instruction  in  the 
English  language  (Hall.  Nachr.  p.  1421).  Kunze  was  elected 
Professor,  and  in  a  short  time  had  the  satisfaction  of  witnessing 
the  attendance  of  upwards  of  thirty  students.  About  this  time 
he  accepted  an  invitation  to  settle  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
influenced  chiefly  by  the  hope  of  there  advancing  the  interest  of 
Theological  education  in  the  Lutheran  church.     The  Legislature 

*  See  Evangelical  Keview,  vol.  1,  pages  20-26. 


524  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

of  New  York  had  passed  an  act  for  the  establishment  of  a  Uci- 
versity,  in  which  act  it  was  proposed  that  if  any  congregation  or 
individual  would  secure  the  annual  payment  of  two  laindred 
bushels  of  wheat,  there  should  be  elected  in  the  Univ,ersity  a 
Professor  of  Theology  of  the  denomination  to  which  the  donors 
belonged,  or  some  person  whom  they  might  designate  (H.  N.  1510). 
Kunze  wrote  immediately  to  Germany  on  this  subject,  and  hoped 
that  the  Avay  was  ojiened  for  the  endowment  of  a  theological 
professorship  for  the  Lutheran  church.  He  writes  to  Freyling- 
hausen  as  follows:  "In  my  letter  to  Mr.  Pasche  I  stated  the 
contents  of  an  article  in  our  University  act,  by  which  authority  is 
given  to  establish  a  theological  professorship,  as  soon  as  a  fund 
shall  have  been  collected,  which  will  yield  annually  two  hundred 
bushels  of  wheat  or  eighty  pounds  of  our  currency,  and,  as  I 
added,  this  article  particularly  influenced  me  to  accept  of  the 
invitation  to  New  York.  Such  an  institution,  by  which  men  can 
be  prepared  for  the  sanctuary,  our  church  in  North  America  needs, 
where  the  harvest  is  great  and  the  want  of  faithful  laborers  is  yet 
greater.  I  came  here  (he  writes'  from  New  York)  in  the  hope 
that  liod  would  from  time  to  time  awaken  those  who  would  pro- 
mote the  welfare  of  our  Evangelical  church  in  this  part  of  the 
world.  The  institution  in  Philadelphia  might,  by  degrees,  send 
us  students,  especially  if  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  found  certain 
benefactions  (scholarship.s)  for  those  who  would  devote  themselves 
to  the  work,  but  whose  parents  are  too  poor  to  sustain  them  in  the 
University,  as  we  can  in  an  especial  manner  depend  upon  the 
poor.  My  eyes  are  here  directed  to  the  Lord."  H.  N.  1504-5-10. 
It  was  the  fond  hope  of  Dr.  Kunze  that  many  poor  and  pious  men 
would  receive  their  prej:)aratory  education  in  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  sustained  by  patrons  in  this  country  and  in  Ger- 
many, and  then,  by  the  endowment  of  a  theological  professorship 
in  the  University  of  New  York,  they  could  then  receive  their 
theological  training.  Mr.  Schmidt  succeeded  Dr.  Kunze  as 
preacher,  and  Dr.  Helmuth  succeeded  him  as  Professor  of  German 
in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  The  prospects  of  education 
in  the  church  became  brighter.  "  Nothing,"  writes  Mr.  Schmidt 
(li.  N.  p.  1516),  "lies  nearer  the  hearts  of  us  preachers  than  a 
German  educational  institution,  in  which  the  youth  can  be  pre- 
parpd  for  the  peculiar  service  of  the  church.  We  have,  it  is  true, 
a  share  in  the  University  here,  which  we  improve.     The  German 


FIFTY    YEAKS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  525 

section  of  the  University,  which  receives  from  the  Trustees  annu- 
ally six  hundred  pounds  Pennsylvania  currency,  is  not  without 
hope  for  the  future.  Heluiuth,  who  superintends  this  department, 
teaches  seven  hours  daily,  giving,  instruction  in  Latin  and  Greek 
to  the  German  youth,  and  in  German  to  the  English  students 
*******  "^g  i^^Q  preachers,  in  Philadelphia,  pro- 
pose, in  the  approaching  winter  *****  to  impart 
instruction  in  the  different  parts  of  theology     *     '■'     *     *     *  " 

Thus  we  see  w^hat  were  the  feelings  and  views  of  the  leading 
ministers  of  our  church,  in  the  first  half  century  of  her  existence 
in  this  country.  Nothing  of  permanent  value  to  the  church  grew 
out  of  the  effort  either  in  Philadelphia  or  New  York.  Their 
experience  and  ours  shows  most  clearly  that  in  one  respect  they 
failed  in  foresight.  They  conceived  of  nothing  but  German 
churches  and  German  preachers.  It  seems  that  it  never  entered 
into  their  minds  that  the  rising  generation  of  Germans  would 
grow  up  in  the  language  and  manners  and  tastes  of  the  people 
with  whom  they  daily  associated,  and  that,  therefore,  their  church 
policy,  so  far  as  these  things  prevailed,  must  be  adapted  to  them. 
Here  was  a  great  and  fatal  mistake,  from  the  melancholy  effects 
of  which  the  church  has  not  recovered  to  this  day. 

No  further  efforts  were  made  to  found  a  distinct  theological 
school,  but  Dr.  Schmidt  and  Helmuth  for  some  years  had  private 
pupils  whom  they  trained  for  the  ministry.  Most  of  the  men 
who  entered  our  ministry  between  1800  and  1815,  were  taught 
by  one  or  the  other  of  these  men.  After  their  death.  Dr.  Loch- 
man  of  Lebanon,  and  afterwards  of  Harrisburg,  took  students  of 
theology.  Rev.  D.  F.  Schaeffer  of  Frederick,  Md.,  had  some  stu- 
dents almost  constantly.  Rev.  S.  S.  Schmucker  of  New  Market, 
Va.,  also,  and  thus  other  ministers  devoted  a  portion  of  their  time 
to  the  private  instruction  of  divin.ty-pupils  until  the  establish- 
ment of  Gettysburg  Seminary  in  1826. 

Before  this  period  Hartwick  Seminary  had  trained  a  number, 
but  after  the  Gettysburg  school  was  opened,  Hartwick  declined. 

I  have  at  another  place  in  this  book  given  sketches  of  our  sev- 
eral Theological  Institutions,  to  which  the  reader  is  referred  for 
the  progress  of  Theological  Education  in  our  Church  in  the  United 
States. 


526  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 


LUTHERAN  ALMANACS. 


The  first  distinctively  Lutheran  Almanac  in  this  country  was 
printed  at  Troy,  N.  Y.,  in  English,  for  the  year  1835.  The  next 
attempt  was  made  in  the  same  language  at  the  Lutheran  Publica- 
tion Eooms,  Baltimore,  for  1842  and  1843.  One  number,  for  the 
former  year,  appeared  at  the  same  place  in  German.  After  an  in- 
terval of  seven  years,  the  present  series  was  commenced  for  1851, 
in  Baltimore,  by  Mr.  T.  Newton  Kurtz,  in  whose  hands  it  is  still 
continued.  Consequently,  the  present  number,  for  1878,  is  the 
28th.  At  the  end  of  ten  years,  the  form  was  changed  from  the 
quarto  to  the  duodecimo.  This  number  is  the  17th  in  the  smaller 
form,  and  the  7th  by  the  present  editor.  In  1853  Rev.  S.  K. 
Brobst,  of  Allentown,  Pa.,  began  his  Lutherischer  Kalender,  for 
the  German  people,  which  is  still  continued.  A  Norwegian  Al- 
manac was  issued  for  three  years,  from  1857  to  1860  inclusive,  at 
Madison,  Wis.  An  English  calendar,  called  the  Church  Almanac, 
was  begun  at  Allentown  in  1866,  and  has  been  continued  since 
1871  in  Philadelphia.  A  small  Lutheran  Almanac,  in  English, 
was  published  for  the  years  1867  and  1868,  by  Duffie  &  Chapman, 
successively  at  Newberry  and  Columbia,  S.  C.  In  1870  the  Amer- 
ikanischer  Kalender  fiir  Deutsche  Lutheraner  made  its  first  ap- 
pearance at  St.  Louis,  and  is  issued  annually.  The  last  enterprise 
of  this  kind  is  the  Kirchenfreund  Kalender  (German),  for  1876, 
by  Severinghaus  &  Co.,  at  Chicago,  111.,  which  is  to  be  continued. 
Thus,  so  far  as  the  writer  knows,  ten  series  of  Lutheran  Almanacs 
have  been  introduced  ;  and  of  this  number  five  continue  to  ap- 
pear. 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  527 


THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY  AT  GETTYBBURG.* 


Nothing  definite  was  attempted  towards  the  establishment  of  a 
seminary  until  the  meeting  held  at  Hagerstown,  September,  1820, 
when  the  constitution  of  the  General  Synod  was  adopted,  at 
which  time  a  committee  was  appointed  to  draft  a  plan  of  such  a 
school.  The  committee  reported  a  year  after  that  they  could  not 
agree  upon  a  feasible  plan,  and  were  discharged. 

In  1823,  at  the  monthly  conferences  of  the  Synod  of  Maryland 
and  Virginia,  composed  for  the  most  part  of  young  and  religiously 
active  men,  the  subject  was  frequently  discussed,  but  nothing 
positive  was  done. 

In  1824  Rev.  S.  S.  Schmucker,  of  New  Market,  Va.,  preached  a 
sermon  before  the  Synod  at  Middletown,  in  which  he  recommended 
the  enlargement  of  his  private  theological  school  into  a  general 
institution.  Several  months  afterwards,  Rev.  B.  Kurtz,  of  Hag- 
erstown, informed  Mr.  Schmucker  that  Prof.  McLelland,  of  Dick- 
enson College,  had  told  him  that  the  trustees  of  that  college  were 
anxious  that  the  Lutheran  Church  should  establish  a  seminary  at 
Carlisle.  This  proposition  was  not  accepted,  but  Mr.  K.  pro- 
posed another  plan  which  had  been  laid  before  the  conference  at 
Martinsburg,  February  9th,  1825, J  which  was  that  the  seminary 
should  be  located  at  Hagerstown,  that  the  church  school-house 
would  be  offered  as  a  lecture  room,  that  the  professor  should  serve 
several  country  churches,  and  that  the  Pastor  loci  should  be  one 
of  the  professors.  The  plan  was  not  adopted,  upon  the  ground 
the  Synod  alone  was  the  proper  body  to  elect  professors,  but,  by 
this  arrangement,  the  professors  would  elect  themselves,  for  it 
was  understood  that  Mr.  Schmucker  was  to  be  one,  and  Mr. 
Kurtz  was  the  pastor.  At  the  meeting  of  the  Synod  in  October, 
1825,  at  Hagerstown,  Messrs.  Schmucker,  Krauth  and  Kurtz  were 
appointed  to  draft  a  plan  for  the  immediate  establishment  of  a 

*  For  a  full  history,  see  ray  address  at  the  serai-centennial  celebration,  June, 
1876,  published  in  Quarterly  Heview,  October,  187C. 

J  This  meeting  was  composed  of  Messrs.  Kurtz,  Krauth,  V.  Uuthrauf  and  Win- 
ter ;  a  collection  taken  up  which  amounted  to  six  or  seven  dollars  was  the  first  money 
ever  contributed  to  this 2^iJtt pose. 


528  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

seminary,  wliicli,  with  the  additional  articles,  was  subsequently 
adopted  by  the  General  Synod.  A  month  afterwards  the  Gen- 
eral Synod  met  at  Frederick,  when  the  plan  which  was  proposed 
by  the  Synod  of  Maryland  and  Virginia  was  adopted,  and  imme- 
diate measures  were  taken  to  collect  funds  for  the  support  of  the 
institution,  and  Mr.  Kurtz  was  commissioned  to  go  to  Europe  to 
solicit  contributions  for  its  benefit.  Mr.  Kurtz  accepted  the  trust. 
He  was  instructed  to  assure  the  people  abroad  that  their  contri- 
butions should  be  appropriated  to  the  support  of  a  German  pro- 
fessorship. He  sailed  for  Liverpool,  from  New  York,  April  1st, 
1826,  and  was  absent  twenty-two  months.  For  many  particulars 
concerning  his  European  agency,  see  my  History  of  the  Seminary 
in  Quarterly  Review,  and  sketch  in  this  work,  p.  137.  After  Mr. 
Kurtz's  return,  in  1827,  an  outcry  against  the  seminary  was  made 
by  many  German  ministers  and  others  in  this  country,  that  the 
fund  collected  abroad  was  not  appropriated  according  to  agree- 
ment, that  the  directors  had  not  kept  their  word,  and  that  no  Ger- 
man professorship  was  employed.  I  happen  to  know  that  Mr.  K., 
himself,  was  extremely  dissatisfied  with  this  failure  on  the  ]iart  of 
the  directors,  and  frequently  expressed  his  mind  plainly  and  for- 
cibly upon  the  subject. 

The  first  Board  of  Directors  was  elected  at  this  meeting,*  and 
Eev.  S.  S.  Schmucker  was  elected  first  2:)rofessor,  at  a  salary  of 
five  hundred  dollars  for  the  current  year. 

On  March  2d,  1826,  the  Board  met  for  the  first  time,  at  Ha- 
gerstown,  when  the  location  of  the  seminary  was  to  be  determined. 
The  following  proposals  were  received  : 

Hagerstown  offered  $6635 ;  Carlisle,  $2000  in  money,  a  pro- 
fessor's house  for  five  years,  and  $3000  towards  erecting  a  semi- 
nary building ;  the  trustees  of  Dickenson  College  offered  the  use 
of  a  room  in  the  college  for  the  lectures  of  the  professor,  a  lot  of 
ground  one  hundred  feet  square,  the  use  of  the  college  library, 
and  gratuitous  access  to  the  lectures  of  some  of  the  professors,  on 
condition  that  our  professor  should  become  a  member  of  the  fac- 
ulty, and  teach  Hebrew,  &c.,  in  the  college ;  Gettysburg  ofiered 
$7000  in  money,  and  the  use  of  the  academy.  Upon  the  second 
ballot,  Gettysburg  was  selected  much  to  the  chagrin  of  many 
friends  of  the  seminary.     York  made  no  proposal. j" 

The  institution  was  opened  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  September, 

*See  their  names.  Quarterly  Review,  October,  1876. 
tSee  sketch  of  J.  G.  Schmucker,  p.  11. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  529 

182G.  The  professor  was  installed,*  and  his  first  class  consisted 
of  William  Artz,  David  Jacobs,  Jonathan  Oswald,  David  P. 
Rosenmiller,  Jacob  Kaempfer,  J.  S.  Galloway  (Presbyterian), 
Lewis  Eichelberger,  Henry  Haverstick,  Daniel  Heilig,  Benjaxnin 
Oehrle,  N.  R.  Sharrets,  George  Yeager,  S.  D.  Fruckel  and  J.  G. 
Morris.     Five  of  these  yet  survive.     (1878). 

The  seminary  was  incorporated  by  the  Legislature  of  Pennsyl- 
vania in  1827. 

At  the  second  meeting  of  the  Board,  September,  1826,  a  com- 
mittee reported  that  $17,513  had  been  subscribed,  of  which  only 
$1674  had  been  collected ! 

A  classical  school,  in  connection  with  the  seminary,  was  opened 
in  1827,  of  which  David  Jacobs,  a  theological  student,  was  ap- 
pointed teacher.  A  scientific  department  was  added  in  1829,  of 
which  Michael  Jacobs  was  the  teacher.  David  Jacobs  died  in 
1830,  and  Rev.  H.  L.  Baugher  was  appointed  his  successor. 

On  May  14th,  1828,  Prof.  Schmucker  obligated  himself  to  pay 
one  thousand  dollars  in  ten  annual  installments,  to  aid  poor  young 
men  to  prepare  for  the  ministry. 

In  1829  a  committee  was  appointed  to  procure  plans  for  a 
seminary  edifice.  A  contract  was  made  with  Mr.  Pierce,  of 
Chambersburg,  for  $7750,  but  considerable  sums  were  paid  sub- 
sequently for  extra  work  as  usual.  The  corner  stone  was  laid  on 
May  26th,  1831. 

On  May  17th,  1830,  Dr.  Hazeliusf  was  chosen  Professor  of 
Biblical  and  Oriental  Literature,  who  entered  upon  his  duties  in 
the  September  following.  He  remained  three  years  and  accepted 
a  call  to  the  Seminary  in  South  Carolina. 

At  the  spring  meeting  of  the  Board  1831  it  was  announced  by 
letter  from  Rev.  C.  Shober,  of  North  Carolina,  that  the  late  Rev. 
C.  A.  G.  Storch,  of  the  same  State,  had  bequeathed  to  the  Semi- 
nary a  number  of  books,  of  which  a  catalogue  was  sent.  A 
committee  reported  that  they  would  be  of  no  use  to  us  and  the 
books  were  never  sent. 

At  this  session,  fifty  volumes  from  the  library  were  presented 
to  the  Seminary  of  the  Synod  of  Ohio,  but  the  donation  was  not 
appreciated,  consisting  for  the  most  part  of  "  Predigt  und  Andacht 
Buecher"  as  Prof.  Schmidt  once  expressed  it  to  me. 

Candor  as  a  historian  compels  me  to  state,  that  the  Board  about 
this  time  most  injudiciously  and  wrongfully  appropriated  money 

*  Sec  Minutes  of  the  Board,  p.  U,  and  my  History  of  Seminary,  miira  cit. 
t  See  slietch,  p.  66. 


530  FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

to  the  payment  of  the  building  which  had  been  collected  for  the 
endowment  of  the  Second  Professorship,  and  which  has  never  been 
paid  back  ! 

By  resolution  of  the  Board,  Rev.  Mr.  Krauth,  of  Philadelphia, 
was  requested  to  prepare  an  Address  on  the  Importance,  Utility 
and  Necessity  of  Studying  the  German  Language,  which  was 
delivered  in  May,  1832,  and  published  at  the  expense  of  the 
Board. 

At  this  time  five  additional  acres  of  land  were  purchased,  one 
of  which  was  to  be  laid  out  as  an  ornamental  garden,  which  was 
never  done. 

In  1833  contracts  were  made  for  erecting  dwelling  houses  for 
the  Professors. 

When  Dr.  Hazelius  retired  in  this  year,  temporary  provision  for 
instruction  in  German,  Hebrew  and  Greek,  was  made,  and  at  the 
next  meeting  Rev.  Mr.  Krauth  was  elected  professor. 

At  this  time  it  was  announced  that  a  bequest  of  five  hundred 
dollars  had  been  made  to  the  Seminary  by  Mr.  Scholl,  of  Fred- 
erick. 

A  donation  of  fifty  volumes  was  made  to  the  Seminary  of  the 
South  Carolina  Synod. 

At  the  spring  session  of  1834  the  Rev.  B.  Kurtz  was  appointed 
tempoi-ary  Professor  of  German  Literature  and  Church  HLstory, 
which  he  declined. 

About  this  time,  several  rooms  in  the  Seminary  w'ere  furnished 
by  individuals  or  congregations,  for  the  use  of  indigent  students. 

The  shade  trees,  which  a  number  of  years  subsequently  adorned 
the  front  campus,  were  presented  by  the  editor  of  the  Lutheran 
Observer  (J.  G.  M.)  out  of  profits  arising  from  that  journal. 

During  this  period  the  Board  heard  that  Rev.  G.  Shober,  of 
North  Carolina  had  bequeathed  a  tract  of  land  situated  in  that 
State.     It  has  never  been  of  any  benefit  to  us. 

In  1836  Prof.  Schmucker  reported  that  he  had  received  sub- 
scriptions to  the  amount  of  about  four  thousand  dollars  in  New 
York  and  New  England. 

In  1837  nothing  of  importance  occurred  in  our  history.  In 
1838  Dr.  Krauth,  who  had  been  elected  President  of  Pennsyl- 
vania College,  resigned  his  professorship  in  the  Seminary. — 
Another  gentleman  (J.  G.  M.)  was  elected  in  his  place,  who 
declined  the  position.     Dr.  Krauth  kindly  consented  to  withdraw 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  531 

his  resignation,  and  continued  to  give  instruction  in  some  branches 
of  his  department. 

In  1839  Rev.  H.  I.  Smith,  who  had  previously  been  elected  a 
member  of  the  College  Faculty,  was  elected  Professor  of  German 
Literature  in  the  Seminary. 

In  this  year  the  first  catalogue  was  printed  with  the  constitu- 
tion. 

In  1841  it  was  announced  that  Mr.  Schroeder,  of  Hamburg,  had 
bequeathed  some  money  to  the  Seminary,  but  it  was  never 
received.  This  whole  affair  was  so  indefinite,  that  I  could  never 
arrive  at  any  satisfactory  knowledge  of  it.  It  was  said  to  have 
fallen  into  other  hands  and  to  have  been  appropriated  to  an 
institution  of  another  church. 

In  the  winter  of  1842-43  an  epidemic  prevailed  in  the  Semi- 
naxy,  and  some  of  the  students  were  dangerously  affected. 

In  1843  the  Alumni  Association  was  formed,  which  has  con- 
tinued to  exist  to  the  present  day.  It  has  undertaken  to  establish 
a  professorship,  but  it  has  not  yet  succeeded. 

At  the  September  meeting  of  1844,  Rev.  Charles  A.  Hay,  of  the 
Synod  of  Maryland  (who  had  previously  spent  two  years  at  several 
German  Universities),  was  elected  Professor  of  Biblical  Literature 
and  the  German  Language. 

In  April,  1845,  a  letter  was  read  from  a  committee  of  the 
Methodist  Protestant  Church  in  reference  to  supporting  a  pro- 
fessor of  their  church  in  our  Seminary,  but  nothing  resulted 
from  it. 

In  the  winter  of  1846-47  a  virulent  fever  broke  out  in  the 
Seminary,  causing  the  death  of  several  promising  young  men. 

About  this  time  Mr.  Koenig,  of  Adams  county,  gave  over  to 
the  treasury  the  sum  of  four  hundred  dollars,  on  condition  that 
the  sum  of  twenty-four  dollars  be  annually  paid  to  him  during 
his  life,  and  after  his  death  the  same  amount  to  be  paid  to  a  ben- 
eficiary. This  amount  was  afterwards  increased  by  similar 
donations  from  Mr.  K.  in  1865  and  '66,  and  after  his  death,  in  1872, 
the  whole,  amounting,  with  some  interest,  to  two  thousand 
five  hundred  dollars,  was  by  the  Board  made  to  constitute  the 
King  Scholarship  for  the  support  of  a  needy  student. 

In  April,  1848,  Prof.  Hay  resigned  his  professorship. 

In  1849,  a  proposition  was  made  by  Mr.  Spitler,  Patron  of  the 
Missionary  Institute  at  Basle,  to  send  young  men  to  our  seminary. 


532  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERA;N    MINISTRY. 

The  result  was  that  for  several  years  some  students  came  over 
and  received  instruction  in  our  school. 

In  1848  measures  were  adopted  to  secure  the  co-operation  of 
the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania  in  the  support  of  a  second  professor. 
The  result  was  that  the  Synod  resolved  to  pay  three  hundred 
dollars  a  year  towards  his  support.  Dr.  Demme  was  thereupon 
elected  professor,  but  he  declined.* 

In  1850  Dr.  Krauth  was  elected  to  the  second  professor.?hip  and 
accepted  it. 

In  1851  it  was  rejoorted  to  the  Board,  that  our  seminary  was  to 
have  part  of  the  services  of  the  German  professor  supported  by 
the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania  in  the  college,  in  teaching  theological 
branches  in  the  German  language.  Dr.  Mann  was  nominated  but 
he  declined.  Four  years  after.  Dr.  C.  F.  Schaeffer  was  elected, 
and  resigned  to  enter  the  Faculty  of  the  newly  established  Theo- 
logical Seminary  in  Philadelphia. 

For  several  years  nothing  requiring  special  notice  was  done, 
but  at  the  meeting  of  August  11,  1863,  this  resolution  was  passed  : 

Resolved,  That  the  Board  has  heard  with  proud  satisfaction  of 
the  heroic  conduct  of  those  students  of  the  seminary  who  have 
rushed  so  promptly  to  the  defeace  of  their  country  during  the 
late  rebel  invasion,  and  that  their  course  is  approved.f 

For  several  months  after  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  the  seminary 
building  was  occupied  as  an  hospital  by  the  government.  It  was 
resolved  by  the  Board  at  a  subsequent  meeting,  "  that  from  motives 
of  patriotism  and  gratitude  to  God  for  the  glorious  victory  vouch- 
safed to  our  arms  at  Gettysburg,  during  the  first  three  days  of 
July,  1863,  no  compensation  should  be  solicited  from  the  govern- 
ment for  damages  sustained  to  the  buildings,  but  will  look  to  the 
free-will  otFerings  of  the  churches  for  the  means  necessary  to 
rer)air  the  same."  Four  thousand  two  hundred  and  ten  dollars 
were  raised  for  this  purpose,  and  yet  in  the  proceedings  of  the 
Board  a  year  later,  August,  1864,  I  find  that  six  hundred 
and  sixty  dollars  and  fifty  cents  were  received  from  the  govern- 
ment for  the  use  of  the  seminary  as  an  hospital. 

At  this  meeting  (1863)  Dr.  Schmucker  resigned  his  professor- 
ship, after  a  service  of  nearly  forty  years.  His  name  was 
continued  on  the  catalogue  as  Professor  emeritus.  Dr.  James  A. 
Brown  was  elected  in  his  place. 

*  See  Biographical  Notice  of  Demme,  page  119. 
t  Sec  p.  397. 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN   THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  533 

At  the  August  meeting  of  this  year  (18G5)  the  following 
gentlemen,  Revs.  Grahn,  Kohler  and  Mr.  L.  L.  Haupt,  presented 
themselves  as  Directors  from  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
claimed  admission,  which  was  refused  upon  the  ground  that  that 
Synod  had  placed  itself  without  the  pale  of  the  General  Synod 
by  its  action  at  the  meeting  of  the  latter  body  at  York,  and  that 
it  had  established  a  seminary  at  Philadelphia,  to  which  its  entire 
support  and  patronage  were  devoted,  and  withdrawing  the  Ger- 
man professor  without  giving  the  constitutional  notice,  and 
forbidding  his  successor  to  impart  instruction  in  the  seminary,, 
according  to  the  conditions  of  his  appointment,  thus  placing, 
itself  in  direct  antagonism  to  our  institution. 

Tile  gentlemeo  who  were  refused  seats,  together  with  Dr.  H.  H. 
Muhlenberg,  a  member  previously  elected,  presented  a  protest 
against  this  action  and  withdrew. 

At  this  session  Rev.  M.  Valentine,  of  Reading,  was  elected' 
Professor  of  Biblical  and  Ecclesiastical  History,  and  a  fourth 
professor  was  chosen  in  the  person  of  Rev.  Dr.  C.  A.  Hay,  of 
Harrisburg. 

In  this  year,  1865,  the  Rev.  Samuel  A.  Holman,  then  of  Altoona, 
Pa.,  informed  the  Board  that  he  had  subscribed  two- thousand 
dollars  "  for  the  purpose  of  securing  an  annual  lecture  on  one  of 
the  twenty-one  doctrinal  articles  of  the  Augsburg  Confession," 
the  interest  of  which  sum  shall  be  paid  to  the  lecturer  annually 
chosen  by  the  Directors. 

Dr.  Krauth  died  May  30th,  1867. 

Dr.  Valentine  resigned  September,  1868,  and  Rev.  C.  A.  Stork, 
of  Baltimore,  was  chosen  in  his  place,  but  he  did  not  accept. 

Dr.  Krauth's  library  was  purchased  by  the  Board  at  one  thou- 
sand dollars. 

In  1871  Mr.  John  Rice,  of  Baltimore,  gave  one  thousand  dol- 
lars, the  interest  of  which  is  to  be  paid  to  a  minister,  annually 
selected  by  the  Board,  to  deliver  a  lecture  on  "Ministerial 
Work." 

At  a  special  meeting,  November  9th,  1871,  Rev.  E.  J.  AVolf,  of 
Baltimore,  was  elected  professor,  but  declined  the  call.  In  June, 
1872,  Dr.  Sprecher  was  chosen,  who  also  refused  to  accept. 

In  June,  1873,  Dr.  Valentine  was  elected  to  the  third  professor- 
ship in  full,  expecting  to  resign  his  place  as  President  of  the 
college,    but,  subsequently,    he    felt  it  his    duty    to    decline    the 

call. 

34 


534  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Dr.  Schmucker  died  August,  1873. 

At  an  adjourned  meeting,  in  1873,  Rev.  Dr.  L.  E.  Albert  was 
elected  to  the  position  declined  by  Dr.  Valentine,  who  also  refused, 
and  at  a  special  meeting,  December  2d,  1873,  Mr.  Wolf  was  again 
elected  and  accepted. 

At  the  meeting,  in  June,  1875,  measures  were  adopted  for  cel- 
ebrating the  semi-centennial  year  of  the  seminary,  and  in  the 
following  summer,  1876,  the  following  programme  was  carried 
out : 

Exercises  at  Christ  Church,  Tuesday,  A.  M.,  Dr.  Brown,  "  A 
Congratulatory  Address ;  "  Dr.  Conrad,  "  The  Influence  of  this 
Seminary  on  the  Church  ;  "  Dr.  Harkey,  "  What  the  Church  owes 
in  return  to  this  Seminary." 

Tuesday,  P.  M.,  Dr.  Davis,  "  TheHistory  of  Theological  Semi- 
naries;  "  Dr.  Sadtler,  "The  Advantages  of  Seminary  Training." 
Tuesday  night,  Seminary  Graduation  Exercises  ;  Alumni  Associa- 
tion Meeting. 

Wednesday,  A.  M.,  Dr.  Morris,  "  This  Seminary's  History  and 
Statistics  ;  "  M.  Sheeleigh,  "  A  Poem;  "  R.  Weiser,  "  The  Necrol- 
ogy of  this  Seminary." 

Exercises  at  the  Seminary,  AVednesday,  P.  M.,  Grand  Re- 
union ;  Dr.  Albert,  President  of  the  Board,  "  Address  of  Wel- 
come ;  "  Dr.  SchoU,  "  Response  to  Welcome  ;  "  Dr.  Baum,  "  What 
Memorial  shall  we  rear  to-day  ?  "     Volunteer  speeches. 

In  fifty  years  our  ministry  has  grown  from  two  hundred  and 
fifty  to  two  thousand  and  eight  hundred,  of  v\^hich  number  five 
hundred  and  forty  have  been  in  whole  or  part  educated  at  Get- 
tysburg, an  average  of  ten  a  year. 

Besides  the  three  houses  for  professors'  dwellings,  and  the  Semi- 
nary building,  we  own  twenty  acres  of  land  in  the  vicinity. 

The  present  invested  fund  is  about  $100,000,  most  of  which  is 
productive. 

The  library  contains  more  than  ten  thousand  volumes. 

The  largest  donation  ever  made  by  one  person  is  $5,000 ;  the 
largest  bequest,  $3,000. 

The  professors  were  :  Rev.  S.  S.  Schmucker,  1826-64 ;  Rev.  E. 
L.  Hazelius,  1830-33 ;  Rev.  C.  P.  Krauth,  1850-67  ;  Rev.  H.  I. 
Smith,  1839-43 ;  Rev.  C.  A.  Hay,  1844-48 ;  Rev.  C.  F.  Schaeffer, 
1855-64;  Rev.  J.  A.  Brown,  1864;  Rev.  M.  Valentine,  1865-68; 
Rev.  C.  A.  Hay,  1865 ;  Rev.  E.  J.  Wolf,  1873. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  535 

Rev.  H.  L.  Baugher  and  Dr.  Valentine,  both  professors  in  Penn- 
sylvania College,  were  temporarily  employed  in  the  seminary. 
When  the  latter  withdrew,  in  1872,  Rev.  C.  A.  Stork  was  appointed 
in  his  place,  but  retired  after  a  few  months'  service  on  account 
of  pastoral  engagements  in  Baltimore,  where  he  continued  to  re- 
side. J.  G.  Morris,  for  the  last  several  years,  has  spent  several 
weeks  of  the  winter  in  giving  instructions  in  Sacred  Rhetoric  and 
the  connection  between  Science  and  Revelation. 

The  persons  elected  to  full  professorships,  but  declined,  are 
J.  G.  Morris,  B.  Kurtz,  C.  R.  Demme,  J.  W.  Mann,  C.  A.  Stork, 
S.  Sprecher  and  L.  E.  Albert. 

Nine  of  the  students  have  gone  as  missionaries  to  the  heathen  • 
thirty-nine  have  served  as  Presidents  or  professors  of  colleges  and 
classical  academies ;  forty-three  have  received  the  title  of  D.  D. ; 
three,  that  of  L.  L.  D.,  and  one  has  received  diplomas  from  two 
learned  societies  in  Europe. 

The  number  of  those  who  abandoned  the  ministry  altogether, 
after  having  served  several  years,  is  six.  The  number  of  those 
who  never  entered  the  ministry  is  six  ;  the  number  of  those  who 
abandoned  our  church  is  eleven. 

We  never  had  but  one  colored  student,  and  that  was  Daniel  A. 
Payne,  who  afterwards  became  a  bishop  in  the  Methodist  church. 

Of  the  five  hundred  and  forty  who  have  been  students  here, 
one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  have  published  books  and  pam- 
phlets of  their  own  writing. 


SEMINARY  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


The  first  steps  taken  towards  the  establishment  of  a  Theologi- 
cal Seminary,  by  the  South  Carolina  Synod,  were  sundry  resolu- 
tions passed  at  the  meeting  of  Synod,  held  in  Savannah,  Ga., 
November  20th,  1829,*  but  the  fate  of  the  institution  was  not 
fully  decided  until  the  next  year,  when  the  subject  was  thoroughly 
discussed  by  Dr.  Bachman,  in  his  annual  address,  as  well  as  in 
his  Synodical  sermon.  Various  committees  were  appointed,  and 
considerable  interest  was  awakened  in  the  proposed  institution. 
Additional  resolutions  were  passed  by  this  meeting  (1830),  and 
provision  was  made  for  the  appointment  of  directors,  and  the  elec- 

*  Bemheim,  German  Settlement,  &c.,  489. 


536  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

tion  of  a  professor.  The  Rev.  J.  G.  Swartz  was  accordingly 
elected,  who  although  only  twenty-three  years  of  age,  was  said  to 
be  eminently  qualified  for  the  position.* 

The  j)ermanent  location  of  the  seminary  was  postponed  to  some 
future  time  ;  however,  as  Prof.  Swartz  had  taken  charge  of  several 
churches  in  Newberry  District,  which  he  was  unwilling  to  resign 
until  another  year  had  expired,  and  he  gave  notice  "  that  for  the 
year  1831  his  residence  will  be  in  Newberry  District,  *  *  *  * 
and,  that,  he  will  be  prepared,  in  February,  to  receive  theological 
students." 

The  seminary  opened  with  very  flattering  prospects ;  so  many 
students  came,  that  the  Professor  expressed  his  fears,  that  if  more 
would  come,  they  could  not  be  accommodated. 

He  began  his  labors  in  February,  1831,  at  his  residence,  and 
in  less  than  seven  months  afterward  he  was  numbered  with  the 
dead.  He  died  August  26th,  having  just  reached  his  twenty-fourth 
year.  Dr.  Bachman  delivered  a  funeral  discourse,  in  which  he 
portrays  in  eloquent  language  the  exalted  character  of  this  prom- 
ising young  man. 

During  an  interim  of  two  years,  Lexington  Village  was  selected 
as  the  final  location,  and  earnest  efforts  were  made  towards  the 
endowment  of  the  professorship,  and  the  erection  of  buildings.  In 
i  333,  the  Rev.  Ernst  L.  Hazelius,  f  of  Gettysburg,  was  elected 
J  rofessor  of  Theology,  and  Rev.  W.  Muller,  Principal  of  the 
Classical  Academy. 

Dr.  Hazelius  went  to  Lexington  in  the  fall  of  1833,  and  com- 
menced his  labors  in  January,  1834,  and  remained  there  for  nearly 
twenty  years,  to  the  close  of  his  life  in  1853.  Rev.  C.  B.  Thuem- 
mel  was  an  assistant  to  Dr.  Hazelius  in  1841  to  1844.  Rev.  W. 
F.  Leppard  was  also  assistant  for  some  time. 

In  1850  the  Rev.  William  Berley  was  elected  the  second  pro- 
fessor of  the  seminary,  and  principal  of  the  preparatory  depart- 
ment. Mr.  Henry  Muller  has  been  the  most  liberal  benefactor  of 
the  seminary,  having  on  one  occasion  pledged  himself  for  the  sum 
of  four  thousand  dollars,  and  besides  having  erected  a  dwelling 
for  the  second  professor  at  a  cost  of  two  thousand  dollars,  and 
presented  it  to  the  Synod. | 

In  1849  Rev.  L.  Eichelberger,  of  Winchester,  Va.,  was  elected 

*  Ibid,  494,  .5  W  503,510. 
tSeo  sketch  of  Dr.  H..  p.  66. 
t  Bernheim,  540. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  537 

second  Professor  of  Theology, f  but  declined  the  offer.  Tn  1852 
Dr.  Hazel ius  resigned  on  account  of  age  and  infirmity,  when  Mr. 
Eicbelberger  was  again  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy,  and  accepted. 
He  resigned  in  1858  and  returned  to  Winchester,  his  former  res- 
idence, where  he  died. 

In  1S59  Rev.  Dr.  J.  A.  Brown  was  elected  Professor,  and  left 
in  1862. 

The  seminary  was  afterwards  removed  to  Salem,  Roanoke  county, 
Va.,  of  which  Rev.  Dr.  Repass  is,  at  present,  Professor. 

This  institution  has  had  singular  adventures.  It  has  been  in 
operation  in  Newberry  District,  S.  C,  under  the  care  of  Professor 
Swartz  ;  then  at  Lexington,  S.  C,  under  the  care  of  Drs.  Hazelius, 
Eicbelberger  and  several  assistants;  then  at  Newberry  C.  H., 
S.  C,  under  the  care  of  Dr.  Bro^vn,  and  now  at  Salem,  Va. 


MISSIONARY    INSTITUTE. 


This  school  originated  with  Benjamin  Kurtz,  D.  D.,  late  of 
Baltimore,  Md. 

In  1854  or  1855,  he  brought  it  before  the  Maryland  Synod  and 
secured  the  appointment  of  a  committee  on  the  subject,  which 
consisted  of  B.  Kurtz,  W.  Jenkins,  Chas.  Witmer  and  George 
Hickman. 

This  committee  presented  its  report  to  the  Synod  at  its  conven- 
tion held  in  the  city  of  Frederick,  in  October,  1856,  (See  Mins. 
pp.  22-26.) 

In  this  report  the  committee  argues  the  necessity  of  an  insti- 
tution in  addition  to  our  regular  colleges  and  theological  semi- 
naries, in  which  to  educate  for  the  gospel  ministry  by  a  shorter 
course,  and  without  going  through  the  curriculum  of  an  eight  or 
ten  years'  course  of  training,  pious,  common-sense,  practical, 
earnest  men  for  the  ministry. 

The  Synod  appointed  a  Board  of  Trustees,  which  proceeded  at 
once  to  adopt  "Statutes  for  the  Goverwmenl  of  the  31issionary 
Institute,"  and  which  appeared  twice  in  the  Lutheran  Observer  in 
1856  and  1857. 

tScesketch,  p.  189. 


538  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

The  Executive  Committee  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Managers 
rendered  its  first  report  to  the  Synod  (Md.)  in  October,  1857,  at 
its  convention  held  in  Baltimore. 

It  reported  "  encouraging  progress  made  toward  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Institute"  as  the  appointment  of  a  superintendent, 
the  reception  of  various  proposals  for  the  location  of  the  Insti- 
tute, the  appointment  of  Rev.  H.  Ziegler  as  agent  to  solicit 
subscriptions,  and  the  preparation  of  a  constitution  to  be  submitted 
for  adoption  after  maturer  deliberation. 

At  the  request  of  the  Board  of  Managers,  and  in  view  of  the 
probability  that  the  Institute  would  be  located  outside  of  the 
State  of  Maryland,  the  Executive  Committee  proposed  the 
following  resolutions,  which  were  adopted  : 

"  Hesulvcd,  That  the  Board  of  Managers  of  our  contemplated 
Missionary  Institute,  is  hereby  constituted  a  self-perpetuating 
body,  having  all  the  right  to  fill  by  its  own  vote,  its  own  vacan- 
cies, arising  from  death,  resignation,  or  otherwise." 

''And,  whereas,  it  is  thought  probable  that  the  institute  will 
be  located  within  the  bounds  of  another  Synod  tjaan  that  of  Mary- 
land, and  such  Synod  should  have  the  principal  management  of  it, 
therefore,  to  remove  all  impediments," 

"  Resolved,  That  this  Synod  hereby  abolish  its  existing  relations 
to  said  institute,  and  dissolve  its  present  special  connection  with 
it." 

The  Board,  at  its  meeting  held  in  Baltimore,  May  Sd,  1858,  lo- 
cated the  institute  at  Selinsgrove,  Pa.,  the  subscription  for  its 
location  being  $15,012.  At  this  meeting  several  members  re- 
signed, and  vacancies  were  filled  by  the  election  of  others  residing 
in  Selinsgrove. 

After  this,  the  Board  met  regularly  at  Selinsgrove.  At  one  of 
its  first  meetings,  the  statutes  were  so  amended  as  to  increase  the 
Board  to  thirty  members. 

The  first  session  of  the  institute  was  opened  on  the  7th  Octo- 
ber, 1858,  in  two  rooms  belonging  to  the  second  Lutheran  Church 
of  Selinsgrove. 

The  faculty  was :  B.  Kurtz,  D.  D.,  Superintendent ;  Rev.  H. 
Ziegler,  assistant  Professor  of  Theology  ;  and  Theophilus  Weaver, 
A.  B.,  Principal  of  the  Classical  Department. 

The  second  school  year  was  opened,  in  the  autumn  of  1859,  in  the 
Institute  building,  erected  on  a  lot  of  ground  containine  six  and 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  539 

two-thirds  acres,  adjoining  the  town  of  Selinsgrove.  The  build- 
ing is  brick,  eighty-six  by  forty-three  feet,  and  is  four  stories,  in- 
cluding a  basement  for  cellar,  kitchen  and  dining-room.  This 
was  paid  by  the  subscription  already  named. 

A  charter  was  procured  conferring  university  privileges.  We 
have,  however,  confined  our  work  to  a  classical  and  a  theological 
department.  The  former  prepares  students  for  the  Junior  and 
Sophomore  classes  of  college ;  the  latter  embraces,  in  a  three 
years'  course,  the  branches  usually  taught  in  our  theological 
seminaries. 

Our  pi  in  is  (in  the  theological  department)  to  have  all  the 
students  in  one  class,  formed,  according  to  their  time  of  entering, 
into  three  divisions.  They  all  attend  the  same  studies,  except  in 
Hebrew,  so  that  each  division  completes  the  curriculum  in  three 
years.  It  works  admirably.  Besides,  it  is  a  great  saving  of  time 
to  the  professors,  and  of  money  to  the  church. 

The  present  teachers  are :  In  the  Theological  Department, 
H.  Ziegler,  Superintendent  and  Theological  Professor,  and  P.  Born, 
Assistant,  giving  two  recitations  per  week.  In  the  Classical 
Department,  P.  Born,  Principal  since  1859,  with  three  assistants. 

The  classical  department  sustains  itself.  For  some  years  the 
theological  department  was  sustained  by  voluntary  contributions. 
That  plan  was  gradually  abandoned.  We  have  now  a  funded 
endowment  of  about  sixteen  thousand  dollars,  besides  some  six 
or  seven  thousand  in  unpaid  subscriptions  and  notes.  In  addition 
we  know  of  bequests  amounting  to  from  twelve  to  fifteen  thousand 
dollars,  which  will  be  available  some  time  in  the  future. 

We  have  also  erected  on  the  grounds  of  the  institute  five  double 
houses  for  the  use  of  married  students,  each  half  house  having  a 
lot  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet  by  thirty  feet.  The  cost 
of  the  buildings  is  $7,090.67,  all  received  by  voluntary  contribu- 
tions except  about  $1500.  Ten  families  occupy  these  houses,  at  a 
rent  of  $12  each,  yearly. 

The  number  of  classical  students  averages  from  one  hundred  to 
one  hundred  and  thirty.  The  present  theological  class  numbers 
seventeen. 

The  library  contains  about  three  thousand  volumes,  many  of 
them  being  choice  and  valuable  works,  and  to  which  all  the  stu- 
dents have  access  free  of  charge. 

The  number  of  students  sent  out,  and  licensed  or  ordained,  is 


540  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

seventv-five,  to  which  may  be  added  seven  more  who  will  be  ap- 
plicants in  a  few  weeks.     Total  eighty-two. 

Of  this  number  tw:/  have  died  ;  four  are  no  longer  in  the  min- 
istry ;  one  on  account  of  ill  health,  and  three  on  account  of  moral 
delinquency  ;  one  is  with  the  Synodical  Conference  ;  three  are 
connected  with  sister  churches  ;  and  all  the  others  (leaving  seven- 
tv-two)  are  in  connection  with  the  General  Synod. 


AUGUSTANA  COLLEGE  AND  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY. 


Augustana  College  and  Theological  Seminary  has  had  a  very 
small  beginning,  but  has  also  had  an  unusual-  growth  and  devel- 
opment. To  God  alone  belongs  the  glory,  for  through  his  grace 
and  help  this  institution  has  progressed  and  become  what  it  is. 

Already  at  the  organization  of  the  Augustana  Synod,  or  at  its 
first  convention,  which  was  held  at  Clinton,  Rock  county,  Wis., 
•Tune,  1860,  a  resolution  was  passed  to  establish  a  school  for  the 
education  of  pastors  and  parochial  school  teachers.  To  this  was 
given  the  name  of  Augvistana  Seminary,  which  was  temporarily 
located  at  Chicago.  Rev.  L.  P.  Esbjorn,  who  during  nearly  two 
years  had  been  Scandinavian  Professor  at  Illinois  State  Univer- 
sity, Springfield,  111.,  was  chosen  the  first  professor.  He  occupied 
his  position  until  the  summer  1-63,  when  he  returned  to  Sweden. 
During  this  time  the  number  of  students  ranged  from  fifteen  to 
twenty.  At  the  synod  held  in  Chicago,  June  23d-29lh,  1868,  the 
Institution  was  incorporated  under  the  general  law  of  Illinois; 
but  afterwards,  by  a  special  act  of  the  Legislature  of  Illinois, 
approved  February  16th,  1865;  and  amended  by  the  same  body 
by  a  supplementary  act  approved  March  10th,  1869.  At  the  same 
convention  of  the  Synod  it  was  resolved  to  remove  the  school  to 
Paxton,  Ford  county,  Illinois.  Rev.  T.  N.  Hasselquist,  pastor  of 
the  Swedish  Lutheran  Congregation  in  Galesburg,  111.,  was  elected 
Drofessor  in  place  of  Rev.  L.  P.  Esbjorn.  The  Board  of  Directors 
purchased  an  old  school-building,  and,  during  the  summer,  erected 
a  new  one  (the  "boarding-house'')  upon  the  lot  donated  by  Rev. 
T.  N.  Hasselquist.  During  the  first  school-year  the  number  of 
students  was  only  seven  Swedes  and  three  Norwegians,  and  Rev. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  541 

T.  N.  Hasselquist  was  the  only  instructor.  At  the  meeting  of 
Synod  in  Rocl'ford,  1864,  Rev.  Wm.  Kopp  was  elected  English 
Profes.sor.  During  the  school-year  1864-65  the  attendance  was 
only  fifteen,  but  during  the  year  1865-66  there  were  about  forty 
students.  In  1868  the  teaching-force  was  increased  by  the  election 
of  Prof.  A.  Weenas,  who  had  recently  arrived  from  Norway,  and 
Dr.  A.  R.  Cervin,  from  Sweden.  Owing  to  failing  health,  Prof. 
Kopp  resigned,  and  Rev.  S.  L.  Harkey  was  elected,  and  served 
about  one  year.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  H.  Reck,  who  has 
continued  to  the  present  time. 

In  1870  an  important  change  occurred,  by  the  separation  of  the 
Norwegian  pastors  from  the  Augustana  Synod,  with  the  view  of 
organizing  a  Synod  for  themselves,  and  the  consequent  withdrawal 
of  the  Norwegians  from  the  school.  Notwithstanding  this,  there  were 
during  this  school  year,  about  fifty  persons  in  attendance,  which 
number  was  increased  to  eighty  during  the  last  year  (1874-75)  in 
Paxton  ;  and  the  instruction  was  imparted  by  six  teachers — four 
regular  professors  and  two  assistants — viz. :  Rev.T.  N.  Hasselquist, 
D.  D.,  Dr.  A.  R.  Cervin,  Prof.  H.  Reck,  Prof.  C.  0.  Granere,  Rev. 
F.  Lagerman  and  Mr.  Albert  Wihlborg. 

The  expectation  that  a  large  Swedish  population  would  settle 
in  the  South  or  South-west  was  not  realized,  and  the  desire  to 
relocate  this  school  at  a  place  more  central  for  the  mass  of  the 
Swedish  people  was  often  expressed,  and  resolutions  upon  the 
removal  of  the  institution  were  passed  at  the  Synodical  Conven- 
tions held  at  Moline,  1869,  at  Andover,  1870,  and  at  Chicago 
Lake,  Minn.,  1871 ;  but  only  during  the  Convention  at  Galesburg, 
September,  1872,  did  the  Board  of  Directors  receive  authority  to 
remove  the  institution  to  Moline  or  Rock  Island.  In  March,  1873, 
eighteen  and  seventy-five  hundredths  acres  of  picturesque  bluff- 
land  in  eastern  Rock  Island  were  purchased  of  H.  P.  Hull,  Esq., 
for  ten  thousand  dollars.  At  the  Synod  held  in  Paxton,  June,  1873, 
the  Board  of  Directors  was  authorized  to  erect  upon  the  new  site, 
suitable  school-buildings.  Without  a  "building  fund,"  and  with 
a  very  considerable  debt  for  the  land,  the  Directors,  in  reliance 
upon  God,  undertook  the  work.  In  the  fall  of  1875  the  library 
and  other  effects  of  the  institution  were  removed  to  Rock  Island, 
and  on  the  22d  of  September,  the  first  session  was  opened  in  the 
new  and  beautiful  edifice,  which  was  solemnly  dedicated  to  God 
and  the  church,  on  the  14th  day  of  October,  1875. 


542  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Augnstana  College  and  Theological  Seminary  had  now  entered 
upon  a  new  stage  of  development,  and,  notwithstanding  many  and 
great  obstacles,  rapidly  increased.  The  attendance  of  pupils 
during  the  Academic  year  1875-76  was  one  hundred  and  twelve, 
and  the  corps  of  instructors  was  strengthened  by  the  arrival  of 
Prof.  P.  E.  Melin,  who  had  been  called  from  Sweden,  and  of  Rev. 
Prof.  W.  F.  Eyster,  from  Nebraska. 

The  present  faculty  is  composed  of  Rev.  T.  N.  Hasselquist,  D. 
D.,  President  and  Professor  of  Systematic  and  Pastoral  Theology, 
Exegesis,  &c. ;  Rev.  Olof  Olsson,  Professor  of  Church  History, 
Ethics,  Catechetics,  &c. ;  Rev.  H.  Reck,  Vice  President  and  Pro- 
fessor of  Natural  and  Mental  Philosophy;  Rev.  A.  R.  Cervin, 
Ph.  D.,  Professor  of  Mathematics,  Greek  and  German ;  Rev.  C.  0. 
Granere,  Professor  of  the  Latin  and  the  Swedish  Languages  ;  P. 
E.  Melin,  Ph.  Cand.,  Professor  of  the  Greek  and  the  Hebrew 
Languages;  Rev*.  Wm.  F.  Eyster,  Professor  of  the  English  Lan- 
guage and  of  History ;  Albert  Wihlborg,  Assistant  Instructor  in 
Latin,  Swedish  and  German  ;  Prof.  T.  A.  Frey,  Instructor  in  Book- 
keeping and  Penmanship  ;  M.  P.  Oden,  Assistant  in  Swedish. 

LIBRARY    AND    MUSEUM. 

The  library  of  the  institution  was  e.stablished  at  an  early  day, 
by  a  valuable  donation  of  books  in  the  Swedish,  Latin,  French, 
German  and  other  languages,  made  by  Charles  XV.  (now  deceas- 
ed) King  of  Sweden. 

A  society  of  ladies  in  Upsala,  and  other  friends  of  our  cause, 
also  made  valuable  contributions ;  and  additions  have  been  made 
from  time  to  time,  especially  by  the  Bureau  of  Education  at 
Washington,  so  that  the  library  now  contains  about  six  thousand 
volumes. 

The  museum  contains  interesting  and  valuable  specimens  of 
Mineralogy,  Natural  History,  Botany  and  Ancient  relics. 

The  philosophical  apparatus  is  yet  limited,  and  we  earnestly 
desire  to  make  additions,  so  as  to  increase  facilities  for  making 
illustrations  and  experiments  in  Natural  Philosophy  and  in 
Chemistry. 

Thanks  are  expressed  to  Julin  Dannfelt,  Esq.,  Commissioner 
General  of  the  Swedish  part  of  the  Centennial  Exposition,  Phila- 
delphia, for  valuable  contributions  of  philosophical  apparatus, 
botanical  charts,  school  furniture,  etc. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTKY.  543 

Ninety-nine  students,  of  whona  eighty-six  are  Swedes,  and  thir- 
teen Norwegians,  have  been  trained  in  the  theological  department 
of  this  institution,  all  of  whom  have  been  ordained. 

There  are  at  present  (1877)  nineteen  theological  pupils,  and 
total  number  in  all  the  departments,  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
seven. 


NORTH  CAROLINA  COLLEGE. 


This  institution  was  chartered  January,  1859,  and  commenced 
its  first  session  in  September  following.  It  was  founded  by  the 
Lutheran  Synod  of  North  Carolina,  and  sprung  originally  out  of 
Western  Carolina  Male  Academy,  which  had  been  in  operation  for 
four  years  previous  under  the  Principalship  of  Rev.  W.  Gerhardt. 

Though  established  by  a  Lutheran  Synod,  and  still  under  its 
fostering  care,  it  is  subject  to  no  ecclesiastical  restrictions,  being 
altogether  catholic  and  free  in  its  arrangements  and  discipline. 

The  college  is  located  at  Mount  Pleasant,  an  incorporated  and 
growing  village,  in  Cabarrus  county,  nine  miles  from  Concord,  the 
county  seat  and  nearest  railroad  station.  It  is  in  one  of  the  most 
healthy  sections  of  North  Carolina,  and  is  surrounded  by  an  in- 
dustrious, thrifty  and  moral  population.  The  seclusion  of  the 
place  is  to  some  extent  compensated  by  its  healthfulness  and  by 
the  absence  of  those  allurements  of  vice  and  extravagance  which 
generally  beset  institutions  in  more  accessible  and  public  localities. 

The  college  buildings  are  three  in  number.  They  are  beauti- 
fully situated  on  an  eminence  overlooking  the  village  and  sur- 
rounding country,  and  afibrd  ample  accommodation  for  students 
and  professors.  The  centre  and  main  building,  which  is  seventy- 
five  feet  long  by  forty  feet  wide,  is  a  plain,  substantial  brick  struc- 
ture, three  stories,  and  contains  the  chapel  and  the  students'  rooms. 
The  north  and  south  wings,  each  sixty  feet  long  by  thirty  feet 
wide,  are  two  story  buildings,  also  of  brick,  and  contain  the  pro- 
fessors' rooms  and  the  halls  and  libraries  of  the  two  literary  socie- 
ties connected  with  the  institution.  In  addition  to  these  buildings, 
there  is  within  the  campus  a  convenient  and  commodious  residence 
for  the  use  of  the  President. 


544  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

The  endowment  of  the  college  was  originally  twenty  thousand 
dollars.  It  was  collected  in  1859,  and  invested  in  North  Carolina 
State  Bonds.  Of  this  amount,  nine  thousand  dollars  were  appro- 
priated in  1863  or  64  to  the  payment  of  the  debt  incurred  in  put- 
ting up  the  two  wings.  The  eleven  thousand  dollars,  still  on  hand, 
are  considered  worthless  ;  have  been  no  source  of  income  for  years. 

Four  years  ago,  an  attempt  was  made  to  secure  another  endow- 
ment of  twenty  thousand  dollars,  but  it  was  not  successful.  The 
agent  appointed  to  prosecute  the  work  of  endowment  abandoned 
it  after  several  months  of  canvassing.  Less  than  five  thousand 
dollars  were  realized. 

The  faculty  is  constituted  as  follows  :  Louis  A.  Bikle,  D.  D., 
President;  Rev.  S.  S.  Rahn,  A.  M.,  Professor  of  Ancient  Lan- 
guages and  Literature  ;  H.  T.  J.  Ludwick,  A.  M.,  Professor  of 
Mathematics  and  Natural  Sciences;  Paul  A.  Barrier,  M.  D.,  Lec- 
turer on  Anatomy  and  Physiology. 

The  number  of  students  in  attendance  on  the  exercises  of  both 
departments  of  the  college,  during  the  academic  year  ending  June 
20th,  1877,  was  seventy.  Of  this  number,  fifteen  were  in  the  col- 
legiate, and  fifty-five  were  in  the  preparatory  dej^artment.  The 
graduates  were  three. 

The  library  is  small,  but  contains  some  valuable  works.  As 
there  is  no  invested  fund  for  the  purpose,  the  additions  to  it  are 
not  regular,  nor  numerous,  nor  always  of  the  best  publications. 

The  chemical  and  philosophical  apparatus  is  an  excellent  one. 
Care  was  taken  in  its  selection.  It  is  nearly  new,  and  is  exten- 
tensive  enough  for  all  experiments  in  the  natural  sciences. 

The  cabinet  of  minerals  is  limited,  but  sufficient  for  necessary 
illustrations  in  the  class-room. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    TUE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  545 


ANECDOTES    AND   QUEER   DOINGS 

OF     LUTHERAN     MINISTERS. 


I  have  been  earnestly  solicited  to  incorporate  with  my  reminis- 
cences the  following  anecdotes  and  facts  concerning  some  of  our 
ministers.  I  have  carefully  avoided  mentioning  names  where 
proper,  but  all  the  facts  are  authentic.  Many  more  in  my  posses- 
sion might  have  been  inserted,  but  these  will  suffice  to  give  some 
idea  of  the  condition  of  things  during  this  period,  and  will  serve 
to  enliven  the  duller  portion  of  this  volume. 

"  Anecdotes  of  the  pulpit "  and  "  of  the  ministry,"  are  not  rare 
in  literature,  but  all  the  following  relate  exclusively  to  Lutheran 
ministers,  and  for  that  reason  will  be  more  acceptable  to  the 
readers  of  this  book. 

INTERRUPTIONS    DURING   WORSHIP, 

When  the  late  Dr.  B.  was  pastor  at  B.,  in  his  early  life,  the  grav- 
ity of  the  congregation  was  considerably  disturbed  one  Sunday, 
after  he  had  given  out  the  hymn.  A  very  good  man  lead  the 
singing,  and  to  do  things  properly,  he  stood  near  the  altar.  His 
voice  was  harsh,  unmelodious  and  exceedingly  unpleasant.  As  he 
was  going  on  with  his  discordant  tones  and  unmusical  clatter,  a 
dog  in  the  church,  jiosted  himself  right  in  front  of  the  precentor, 
and  looking  up  in  his  face,  began  the  most  awful,  prolonged 
howls,  just  as  though  his  whole  nervous  system  was  shaken  to 
pieces.  Some  one  near  at  hand  gave  him  a  kick,  and  this  brought 
out  a  succession  of  terrific  yelps.  He  sneaked  under  a  bench, 
but  as  soon  as  the  second  verse  was, begun,  out  came  the  dog  and 
recommenced  his  lamentations.  He  was  finally  put  out  with 
much  trouble.  The  good  brother  singer  was  very  much  embar- 
rassed, not  knowing  exactly  whether  the  dog  was  complimenting 
him  or  suffering  from  nervousness. 


One  day  during  service  in  a  country  church,  whilst  the  minister 
was  very  earnestly  exhorting  the  people,  a  man  stood  at  the  door, 
and  in  a  loud  voice,  exclaimed,  "  Sister  Scott,  your  mar's  loose  ! " 
Of  course,  Sister  Scott  went  out  to  catch  and  secure  the  animal. 


546  FIFTY    YEAKS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

The  loud  exclamation  of  the  rude  boor,  and  the  hurried  departure 
of  Sister  Scott  in  pursuit  of  her  mar,  upset  the  dignity  of  all 
present,  and  it  was  sometime  before  order  could  be  restored,  that 
the  service  might  proceed. 

A  similar  incident  occurred  in  a  country  church,  near  Philadel- 
phia. Whilst  the  services  were  going  on,  a  man  made  the  general 
proclamation,  "  Somebody's  horse  is  loose  !  "  Of  course,  every- 
body who  had  come  to  church  on  horseback,  rushed  out,  presum- 
ing it  was  his  horse,  and  during  the  commotion  the  minister  was 
compelled  to  stop. — F.  A. 

I  was  once  2:)reaching  on  the  repentance  of  Peter,  and  quoted 
the  passage,  "  Peter  went  out  and  wept  bitterly,"  and  added,  "  The 
Saviour  saw  those  tears  of  his  penitent  disciple."  A  man  in  church, 
who  was  a  stranger,  rose  and  exclaimed,  "Sir,  did  you  not  say, 
that  Peter  went  out  and  wept  ?  How  then,  could  the  Saviour,who  re- 
mained in  the  hall,  see  those  tears?  "  I  merely  replied,  "  The  Lord 
Jesus  is  omniscient,  but  this  is  not  the  time  or  place  to  discuss  the 
point  with  you,  call  on  me  after  the  service  and  I  will  talk  to 
you." — J.  c.  D. 

A  well  dressed  young  man,  with  an  intelligent  face,  entered  my 
lecture  room  one  Wednesday  night,  after  the  service  had  com- 
menced. I  knew  him  as  a  candidate  for  the  ministry,  and  the 
son  of  a  respectable  Methodist  minister,  but  I  was  not  aware  of 
his  being  at  large,  having  previously  heard  that  he  had  been  a  pa- 
tient in  an  Insane  Asylum.  He  conducted  himself  with  perfect 
propriety  for  half  an  hour,  when,  all  of  a  sudden,  as  I  was  preach- 
ing earnestly,  he  exclaimed,  "  Give  it  to  them.  Doctor;  pitch  into 
them  hard !  "  The  consequent  confusion  may  be  presumed.  Men- 
tioning his  name,  I  entreated^him  to  be  quiet,  and  in  a  subdued 
tone,  told  my  hearers  his  mental  condition.  I  had  not  proceeded 
five  minutes,  when,  in  an  excited  voice,  he  cried  out,  "  Doctor,  let 
me  come  up  there  and  I'll  drive  the  devil  out  of  them  in  no  time  !  " 
With  much  beside  of  a  similar  character,  this  speech  terrified  the 
ladies  and  aroused  the  gentlemen,  several  of  whom  rushed  to  him 
and  violently  laid  hold  of  him.  He  rose  and  clung  with  the 
strength  of  an  insane  man  to  one  of  the  columns.  By  that  time, 
I  had  approached  him,  and  observing  that  his  eyes  flashed  and 
every  nerve  vibrated  with  excitement,  indicative  of  a  violent  par- 


FIFTY    YEAKS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  547 

oxysm,  I  begged  my  men  to  release  their  grasp  upon  him,  and  be- 
gan to  speak  calmly  and  kindly  to  him.  By  this  time,  many  of 
the  ladies  had  fled  from  the  room  in  terrible  alarm,  and  the  men 
were  anything  but  composed.  The  poor  young  man  promised  that 
he  would  go  with  me,  if  the  men  who  were  holding  him  would  re- 
lease him.  He  quietly  submitted,  and  I  led  him  out  through 
rows  of  ladies  who  had  remained  to  witness  the  end  of  the  scene, 
but,  who  from  fear,  had  mounted  the  settees,  and  shrunk  back- 
wards as  we  proceeded  to  the  door.  I  conducted  him  to  his  board- 
ing-house and  gave  him  over  to  the  care  of  some  friends. — j.  g.  m. 


A  minister,  during  the  celebration  of  the  marriage  service  in 
church,  asked  the  usual  question,  "  If  any  one  present  objects  to 
this  marriage,  let  him  now  speak."  An  old  ladj'  rose,  and  in  a 
squeaky  voice,  exclaimed,  "I  object,  sir."  "What  is  your  objec- 
tion, madam?"  "Why,  they're  both  too  young,  sir."  The  min- 
ister did  not  consider  it  a  valid  objection,  and  proceeded  in 
his  duty. — D.  H. 

S.  R.  was  once  preaching  at the  time  the  canal  was  being 

dug  through  Ohio.  An  Irishman,  no  doubt  led  by  curiosity,  enter- 
ed the  church  and  quietly  took  his  seat.  R.  took  his  text  from 
Isaiah,  "  The  bed  is  shorter  than  that  a  man  can  stretch  himself 
on  it,  and  the  covering  narrower  than  that  he  can  wrap  himself 
in  it."  He  went  on  to  show  that  morality  was  too  short  and  too 
narrow,  that  universalism  was  ditto,  &c.  In  the  midst  of  his 
sermon  two  dogs  began  fighting  in  the  church,  and  he  stopped 
until  the  deacons  had  put  the  intruders  out.  He  then  remarked, 
"  fAy  brethren,  I  have  often  noticed  that  whenever  I  become 
interested,  and  think  i  am  doing  some  good,  the  devil  is  sure  to 
make  some  disturbance.  My  thoughts  have  been  so  distracted 
that  I  scarcely  know  wjiat  I  was  talking  about."  Here  Paddv 
arose  and  said,  "  Your  nverence  was  saying  something  about  the 
blanket  being  too  short."  There  was  first  a  suppressed  titter, 
and  then  an  explosion  followed  that  forbid  any  further  service. — 

D.  H.  B. 


One  of  our  minister  was  once  holding  forth  on  a  Wednesday 
evening  in  his  lecture-room.  Some  cats  in  the  yard  raised  a 
terrific  rumpus.  It  sounded,  I  am  told,  as  if  all  the  cats  in  the 
neighborhood  had  congregated    there    for  a  general  fight.     The 


548  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    TEE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

young  people  tittered,  the  old  ones  tried  to  look  grave,  and  the 
preacher  was  compelled  to  stop,  not,  perhaps,  so  much  on  account 
of  the  discordant  noise  just  outside  the  door,  as  from  an  irre- 
pressible fit  of  laughter  which  seized  him.  His  fat  sides  and 
cheeks  shook,  and  when  he  had  recovered  some  degree  of  com- 
posure, he  said  in  a  most  imploring  tone,  "Will  not  some  of  the 
brethren  go  out  and  drive  away  those  cats  !"  Too  many  were 
glad  of  the  opportunity  to  vent  their  feelings,  some  of  wrath  and 
others  of  mirth,  and  out  they  went.  Then,  the  fracas  was 
redoubled,  for  the  men  cried  "Skat;"  some  of  them  threw  stones 
which  struck  heavily  against  the  fence,  one  of  which  smashed 
several  domestic  utensils  standing  in  the  yard;  the  cats  which 
escaped  scrambled  over  the  fence  with  a  rush,  and  those  which 
were  wounded  uttered  terrific  yells.  After  scattering  the  enemy, 
the  victorious  combatants  returned  to  the  lecture-room  to  be 
greeted  with  a  suppressed  laugh  of  all  present,  preacher  included, 
v/ho  thought  it  about  as  well  to  conclude  his  services  for  that 
evening.— 0.  T. 


One  Sunday,  a  minister  of  our  church  who  was  not  at  the  time 
a  pastor,  was  attending  worship  near  his  own  residence  in  the 
country.  Among  other  means  of  procuring  an  honest  livelihood, 
he  cultivated  bees  and  sold  large  quantities  of  honey. 

One  Sunday,  one  of  his  children  came  into  church  in  a  great 
hurry,  and  rushed  up  to  his  father's  pew,  and  in  evident  alarm 
whispered  something  to  him.  The  old  gentleman  suddenly  seized 
his  hat  and  hastened  out  of  the  house.  The  attention  of  every 
body  was  diverted  from  the  sermon,  and  every  body  thought  that 
something  terrible  had  happened.  The  people  were  impatient 
and  painfully  awaited  the  conclusion  of  the  service,  deeply 
sympathizing  with  their  unfortunate  neighbor.  AVhen  they  came 
out  of  church,  they  learned  that  the  cause  of  all  this  confusion 
was,  the  swarming  of  a  hive  of  bees,  which  it  was  necessary  to 
prevent  from  escaping.  They  saw  the  ex-parson  and  his  whole 
family  industriously  engaged  in  securing  the  fugitives,  which  had 
taken  refuge  on  a  neighboring  tree  ! 


Dr.  D.,  when  j^astor  at  B.,  preached  on  the  parable  of  the  Ten 
Virgins.  His  sexton  had  been  exceedingly  unfortunate  with  his 
lamps  that  evening.  Some  of  them  went  out.  D.,  in  making  his 
application,  pointed  out  many  delinquencies  on  the  part  of  his 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  549 

members,  and  closed  every  series  of  remarks  to  the  different 
classes,  by  the  words  "  You  have  no  oil  in  your  lamps."  The  old 
sexton  stood  the  charge  (supposing  it  personal)  as  long  as  he 
could.  It  was  repeated  again,  and  the  old  man  jumped  up  and 
said,  "  Either  the  oil  was  good  for  nothing,  or  the  devil  was  in  the 
lamps.  He  had  done  his  best,  and  if  D.  was  not  satisfied,  he 
might  get  another  sexton." — D.  H.  B. 

NO    FEE. 

A  wedding  party  of  ten  or  twelve  folks  of  the  colored  persua- 
sion once  drove  up  to  my  door  in  fine  style.  I  took  them  into  the 
parlor,  arranged  them  in  proper  order  and  form,  and  went  through 
the  ceremony  as  provided.  When  all  was  done,  I  observed  some- 
anxious  and  significant  whispering  among  them,  and  heard  the- 
groom,  say  to  another,  "0,  tell  a'  Boss!  tell  a'  Boss!"  He 
straightened  himself  with  dignity,  and  in  a  pompous  tone  said, 
"  Boss,  de  woman  have  come  off  and  forgot  de  money  !  Yes,  I 
sware  if  she  didn't — won't  you  trust  till  to-morrow?"  Of  course 
I  did,  but  this  time  de  man  forgot  it. — J.  c.  D. 

BAPTISMAL    NAME. 

I  once  baptized  an  infant,  and  the  mother  named  it  Larry, 
which  is  the  usual  abbreviation  for  Lawrence,  and  when  I  asked 
her  the  date  of  her  hoys  birth,  "  Oh !  my !"  she  exclaimed,  "  'tis 
not  a  boy;  'tis  a  gal."  "But  did  you  not  say  the  name  was 
Larry  f  "  Yes,  but  it's  a  gal  for  all."  After  a  good  deal  of  talk 
I  found  that  the  kind  but  ignorant  woman  meant  Laura  !  I  told 
her  how  to  spell  and  pronounce  it,  but  I  doubt  whether  she 
profited  by  my  instructions. — J.  c.  D. 

ANOTHER. 

I  was  called  to  baptize  the  twelfth  child  of  Mr.  N.,  and  when  I 
asked  the  name,  the  father  responded  "  Harry  Clay."  "  But, 
Mr.  N.,  Harry  is  a  nick  name,  why  not  say  Henry  Clay  at  once  ?" 
"  Because,"  he  replied,  "  I  have  one  Henry  already  in  the  family." 
So  I  baptized  the  infant  Harry  Clay,  in  honor  of  the  great  states- 
man.— J.  c.  D. 

DR.    BEECHER's   OPINION   OF    LUTHER. 

During  my  residence  in  C,  our  Christian  Protestant  Association 
appointed  Dr.  C.  Stowe,  Theological  Professor  of  Lane  Seminary, 
and  son-in-law  of  Dr.  Beecher,  President  or   the  Seminary,  and 
35 


550  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

also  at  the  same  time  pastor  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  church 
of  0.,  to  lecture  one  whole  winter,  once  a  week  on  Dr.  Luther  and 
the  reformation.  Dr.  S.  had  traveled  all  over  Germany  and 
Europe  in  search  of  works  on  the  Lutheran  reform,  both  by 
Komanist  and  Protestant  authors,  in  different  languages,  which  he 
could  read  off  in  English  as  though  it  were  a  translation.  He  was 
named  the  walking  library.  And  he  honored  me  several  times  by 
supplying  my  pulpit.  Dr.  B.,  in  whose  church  the  lectures  were 
delivered,  and  myself,  were  in  the  pulpit,  when  Prof.  S.  gave  the 
characteristics  of  Dr.  M.  L.  in  the  highest  style  of  truthful  oratory. 
At  the  close  of  this  lecture.  Dr.  B.  jumped  up  and  embraced  me 
most  cordially,  saying  aloud,  "  Mr.  E. !  Dr.  Luther  was  a  greater 
man  than  Paul."  I  assented  (inspiration  excepted)  in  my  own 
mind,  but,  also,  that  I  had  rather  you,  as  a  Presbyterian,  should 
thus  compliment  him,  than  I,  as  a  Lutheran.  The  whole  course 
was  one  continuous  feast  for  intellect  and  heart.  "What  sublim- 
ity of  moral  heroism  both  repeatedly  manifested ! !  I  think  two 
such  men  now  would  find  work  ! ! — A.  r. 

ANECDOTE    CONCERNING   DR.    HELMUTH. 

I  was  providentially  favored,  when  I  was  licensed  to  preach,  in 
having  some  of  the  most  prominent  and  pious  ministers  of  the  old 
mother  Synod  to  be  my  special  friends,  who,  like  fathers,  took  me 
under  their  fostering  wings ;  among  them,  were  Drs.  J.  G.  Schmuck- 
er,  Helmuth,  Lochman,  Dr.  Daniel  Kurtz,  &c.  The  latter  of  whom, 
took  me,  many  years  ago,  to  pay  a  special  visit  to  Dr.  Helmuth, 
of  Philadelphia,  who,  then,  was  bitterly  slandered -Andi  persecuted ; 
and,  that  by  his  own  members  of  old  Zion's  church.  We  felt  a 
deep  interest  in  his  case  ;  so  we  ventured,  but  very  remotely,  to 
hint  at  the  matter — and  a  hint  to  the  icise  is  always  sufficient,  and 
so  it  proved  here.  The  old  Doctor  silently  walked  to  another 
room  and  brought  in  his  hand  a  manuscript  of  poetry  (for  he  Avas  a 
poet),  and  read  in  reference  to  the  accusation  of  moral  delinquencu , 
(£c.,  and,  then  without  another  word  on  that  subject,  returned  his 
manuscript.  It  referred  to  a  remarkable  providential  interven- 
tion in  his  behalf,  when  quite  a  youth  of  about  fifteen  years.  It 
ran  thus :  When  he  left  his  gymnasium  for  a  university,  he  being 
poor  and  entirely  out  of  money,  was  about  to  be  left  behind  by  the 
post  stage ;  so  he  quickly  retired  behind  a  large  oah,  knelt  and 
prayed  in  his  dilemma,  and  getting  manifest  comfort,  he  arose  and 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  551 

went  to  overtake  the  departing  coach — when  lo  !  an  unknown  per- 
son met  him,  handed  him  a  paper,  and  when  he  looked,  it  con- 
tained some  gold  coin.  So  he  paid  his  way,  and  was  enabled  to 
accomplish  his  good  and  great  end. — a.  r. 

DR.    HELMUTH. 

Daring  a  visit  to  the  country,  he  preached  for  a  brother  min- 
ister. The  audience  was  large,  and  seemed  deeply  interested. 
The  Doctor  intending  to  impress  the  truth  more  deeply  upon  their 
minds,  turned  to  the  fathers  and  said,  "  Nun,  stellt  euch  vorl  "  lit- 
erally signifying,  noxo,  present  yourselves,  but  metaphorically,  now, 
imagine  a  case,  or  sujjpose,  &c.  To  his  astonishment,  the  old  men, 
taking  the  words  in  their  literal  sense,  absolutely  rose  from  their 
seats  and  presented  themselves  at  the  altar.  Not  at  all  discon- 
certed by  the  result,  and  ever  ready  to  turn  anything  to  good  ac- 
count, the  good  Doctor  addressed  them  earnestly  and  affectionately, 
and  then  told  them  to  take  their  seats.  By  this  time,  the  feeling  in 
the  congregation  was  most  intense.  Unwilling  to  let  pass  such  an 
opportunity  of  doing  good,  he  next  turned  to  the  mothers.  "  letzt 
ihr  mutter  stellt  euch  vor !  "  Now,  you  mothers,  present  your- 
selves, which  they  did,  and,  after  that,  in  the  same  way,  he  called 
up  the  young  women  and  the  young  men. 

REV.  s R 

Many  of  our  readers  will  remember  this  good  man.  He  was 
converted  under  the  ministry  of  Rev.  William  Yeager,  often  called 
the  "  Apostle  of  the  Mountains,"  as  his  labors  were  pretty  much 
confined  to  the  Eastern  spurs  of  the  Alleghanies.  Solomon  had 
been  rather  a  wild  boy,  and  of  an  ardent  and  impetuous  tempera- 
ment, and  when  after  a  terrible  struggle  with  sin  and  the  devil 
(for  like  Luther  he  believed  in  a  personal  devil,  and  like  the 
greater  reformer  at  the  Wartburg,  he  had  his  own  difficulties  with 
his  Satanic  majesty).  Well,  after  a  terrible  conflict  he  became 
converted,  and  of  course  carried  his  ardent  and  impetuous  temper- 
ament with  him,  over  into  the  kingdom  of  grace.  About  that 
time  (1831)  there  was  a  great  religious  excitement  all  through 
Western  Pennsylvania.  Rev.  John  Winebrenner  had  kindled  the 
fires  of  fanaticism,  and  the  Albrights,  and  United  Brethren,  and 
the  Tunkers,  or  River  Brethren  had  also  caught  the  infection.  The 
mode  of  worship  of  these  sects  was  anything  but  orderly.  S. 
R.    was     heart    and     soul     in     this     fanatical      current.      He 


552  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

immediately  commenced  holding  meetings  on  his  own  account. 
And  as  he  had  a  good  voice  to  sing  and  talk,  he  soon  became 
very  popular  as  an  exhorter.  However  I  think  in  the  fall  of  '31 
he  went  to  Gettysburg,  and  remained  there  several  years,  but  his 
studying  did  not  cure  him  of  his  injudicious  zeal.  He  left 
Gettysburg  the  same  Solomon,  only  with  a  little  more  knowledge. 
He  was  instrumental  in  the  conversion  of  many  souls.  He  was 
full  of  zeal  and  energy — he  could  preach  for  a  whole  month  every 
day  and  night,  and  he  always  measured  his  success  in  preaching 
by  the  wetness  of  his  under  clothes  when  he  was  done.  If  they 
were  dry  he  reproached  himself  for  not  having  "  cried  aloud." 
Among  others  he  was  instrumental  in  the  conversion  of  Eev.  J.  S. 
This  man  had  been  a  hard  case  before  his  conversion  ;  he  was  fond  of 
frolic  and  other  objectionable  acts.  But  to  proceed  with  Solomon's 
case.  After  he  left  Gettysburg,  I  think,  in  1835,  he  settled  at  Mount 
Vernon,  Ohio.  Whilst  in  Ohio  he  was  very  active  in  promoting 
revivals,  or  what  he  called  revivals.  Although  he  no  doubt  did 
some  good,  his  ministry  cannot  be  called  a  success.  He  was  too 
eccentric,  and  too  impetuous  to  be  extensively  useful.  He  was 
unquestionably  a  truely  pious  man,  and  labored  for  the  glory  of 
God  in  the  salvation  of  men.  He  was  a  man  that  thought 
some,  but  his  thoughts  were  generally  disjointed  and  crude.  He 
had  naturally  a  good  mind  with  no  little  originality,  but  it  was 
undisciplined  by  proper  study.  Hence  his  preaching  was  nothing 
but  ranting,  and  yet  that  kind  of  preaching  was  popular  in  those 
days.  I  have  heard  him  make  some  of  the  most  powerful  appeals 
I  ever  heard.  He  had  the  knack  of  moving  a  congregation  that 
I  have  rarely  seen  excelled.  He  could  pour  scorching  hot  fire, 
like  burning  lava,  on  the  hearts  of  wicked  sinners.  He  always 
preached  with  all  the  physical  power  God  had  given  him. 

He -once  rebuked  me  with  his  sharp,  adder-tongue,  most  unmer- 
cifully, and  I  afterwards  convinced  him  that  he  had  done  me  a 
great  wrong.  But  I  always  respected  and  loved  him  because  I 
knew  he  was  honest  and  true.  I  can  say  of  him  as  Cicero  said  of 
his  friend  Cato  Major,  "  Hie  vir,  baud  magnus  cum  re,  sed  ple- 
nus  fidei." 

In  order  to  give  some  idea  of  the  man  and  his  manner  of  doing 
things,  the  following  may  serve  as  an  illustration  : 

On  one  occasion,  while  on  his  way  to  Synod  in  company  with 
two  or  three  of  his  ministerial  brethren,  they  came  to  a  smali 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  553 

village,  in  some  part  of  Ohio.  Solomon  was  full  of  holy  fire,  and 
having  learned  that  there  was  no  preaching  in  that  place,  he  was 
determined  there  should  be  preaching  there  that  night.  So  he 
went  out  into  the  kitchen  and  talked  with  the  woman  of  the  house 
about  it.  She  at  once  consented.  He  then  applied  to  the  landlord, 
but  he  refused.  But  Solomon  was  not  the  man  to  be  bluffed  off 
in  a  matter  of  such  moment.  Preach-  he  would,  and  preach  he 
did,  and,  that  too,  in  the  bar-room  where  all  the  drunken  loafers 
in  the  village  used  to  meet.  The  landlord,  when  he  found  there 
was  no  other  way,  gave  a  reluctant  consent.  So  the  people  were 
invited  in,  and  a  good  many  came.  The  opposition  Solomon  had 
encountered  and  overcame,  only  increased  his  energy,  and  im- 
parted new  zest  to  his  zeal.  His  text  was,  "  We  must  all  appear 
before  the  Judgment  seat  of  Christ,"  and  he  out  did  himself.  He 
called  up  the  different  classes  of  sinners  to  the  bar  of  Judg- 
ment ;  the  drunkards,  and  the  landlords  who  made  the  drunkards 
he  stript  them  naked,  and  dissected  them.  Before  he  was  done 
preaching  the  desired  effect  was  visible  and  audible,  tlie  women 
were  crying  out  for  mercy,  and  the  men  were  quaking  like  aspen 
leaves.  The  mourners  bench  was  called  into  requisition,  and  the 
machinery,  which  Solomon  knew  so  well  how  to  handle  with  effect, 
was  put  in  motion.  Quite  a  number  j^resented  themselves  for  prayer 
and  conversation.  The  meeting  was  continued  until  after  midnight : 
many  professed  to  have  been  converted,  and  among  the  rest,  the 
landlord  and  his  wife.  Solomon,  who  wanted  people  to  be  truly 
converted,  seems  to  have  had  some  doubts  about  the  genuineness 
of  the  landlord's  conversion.  So,  after  the  meeting  was  dismissed, 
he  said  to  the  landlord,  "  Now,  sir,  if  you  are  really  in  earnest 
about  your  soul's  salvation,  you  must  quit  selling  liquor."  "  Oh, 
yes,"  says  the  man,  "  of  course  I  will  quit  when  I  shall  have  sold 
what  I  have  on  hand."  "  No,  sir,  that  will  not  do  ;  you  must  quit 
now ;  your  liquor  must  be  poured  out  into  the  gutter,  and  your 
sign-post  must  come  down,  or  you  will  surely  go  to  hell !"  It  was 
then  agreed  that  the  liquor  should  be  poured  out,  and  the  sign- 
post should  come  down.  In  the  morning,  when  the  people  had 
again  come  to  see  the  great  preacher,  Solomon  put  his  hands  on 
the  bottles  and  poured  the  liquor  into  the  gutter.  He  then  asked 
the  landlord  to  get  him  an  ax.  He  brought  him  one.  Solomon  took 
his  coat  off  and  went  to  work,  and  continued  until  the  post  and 
sign  came  down,  amid  the  shouts  of  applause  of  the  women.     It 


554  FIFTY    YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

is  said  that  he  visited  that  place  afterwards,  and  organized  a  Lu- 
theran congregation  that  is  still  in  existence,  and  in  a  prosperous 
condition. — r.  w. 

ABRUPT    INTERFERENCE. 

One  of  our  young  ministers  (G.  D.)  was  once  leading  family- 
worship  in  the  house  of  a  worthy  widow,  who,  in  her  youth,  had 
a  good  voice,  and  prided  herself  in  singing  the  old-fashioned  tunes 
of  the  church.  Our  young  friend  struck  up  an  unusual  tune, 
somewhat  of  the  fandango  order,  which  the  good  old  lady  tried  to 
•follow,  but  in  vain.  At  the  end  of  the  third  line,  while  the  others 
in  the  room  were  devoutly  singing,  she  all  at  once  exclaimed, 
"  Good  heavens !  Mr.  D.,  what  sort  of  tune  is  that?" 

TRIALS    OF    SOME   OF    OUR    MISSIONARIES    IN    THE   WEST 
AS    LATE   AS   1846. 

Eev.  Jacob  Scherer,  whom  some  of  our  ministers  will  remem- 
ber, states  in  his  diary,  of  February  1846,  when  he  had  located 
near  Olney,  Richland  county,  111., 

"We  moved  into  one  of  Mr.  S 's  houses  Our  fur- 
niture is  truly  sucker ;  *  no  table ;  three  stools ;  scarcely  bed 
clothes  enough  to  keep  us  warm.  Our  bedsteads  consist  of  rails 
let  into  the  cracks  of  the  wall  at  one  end,  and  tied  up  at  the  other 
by  withes  to  rails  set  up  between  the  joist  and  floor.  "We  have  a 
fews  books  with  us.  This  is  to  be  our  best  accommodation  for  a 
time.  We  live  in  a  little  one-story  house,  all  in  one  room.  The 
rest  of  the  week  I  was  engaged  in  fixing  little  matters  in  the  house, 
getting  up  firewood,  making  up  a  school,  etc.,  etc. 

DR.    KUNZE. 

He  held  a  newspaper  controversy  on  the  Gregorian  period  of 
the  century  1800.  It  is  well  known  that  the  discussion  enlisted 
much  feeling  among  the  astronomers,  both  abroad  and  at  home. 
Kunze,  after  mature  deliberation,  addressed  a  communication  on 
the  vexed  question  to  the  editor  of  the  New  York  Gazette,  John 
Lang.  He  had  adverted  to  the  Gregorian  style  in  his  letter,  and 
incidentally  referred  to  Pope  Gregory.  The  faithful  Gazette 
printed  the  name  Tom  Gregory ;  the  venerable  Doctor  hastened 
to  his  friend  and  remonstrated  on  the  injury  he  had  done  him,  and 
requested  an  erratum  to  specify,  instead  of  Tom  Gregory,  Pope 
Gregory  XIII.     Only  one  more  attempt  at  correction  was  made, 

*  A  nickname  for  Illinoisians. 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  555 

when  the  compositor  had  its  typography  so  changed  that  it  read 
Tome  Gregory  the  Pope.  The  learned  divine,  with  a  heavy  heart, 
in  a  final  interview  with  the  erudite  editor,  begged  him  to  make 
no  further  improvements,  as  he  dreaded  the  loss  of  all  the  repu- 
tation his  years  of  devotion  to  the  subject  had  secured  to  him. 
Dr.  Francis  in  Sprague's  Annals  of  Lutheran  Pulpit,  p.  56. 

It  was  only  in  the  German  language  that  Dr.  Kunze  was  capa- 
ble of  preaching  with  any  degree  of  facility.  He,  once,  for  a 
short  time,  attempted  to  preach  in  English,  but  with  such  poor 
success  that  he  was  induced  quickly  to  give  it  up.  Some  wild 
and  wicked  young  men  went  to  the  church  door,  on  one  occasion, 
when  he  was  trying  his  hand  at  English,  and  his  text  happened 
to  be,  "God  is  not  willing  that  any  should  perish,"  &c.  In  order 
to  ridicule  his  German  pronunciation  of  English,  they  went  away 
and  reported  that  the  Doctor  had  said,  in  his  pulpit,  that  "  God 
is  not  a  villain."  The  report  soon  reached  his  ears,  and  he  never 
afterwards  attempted  to  preach,  except  in  his  native  tongue. 
Dr.  Mayer  in  Sprague's  Annals,  p.  58. 

DANGER   OF    IMITATION. 

Mr.  Baetes  used  to  tell  a  story  in  reference  to  a  Lutheran  min- 
ister, who  wanted  to  take  as  a  model  the  distinguished  "Whitfield, 
who,  on  a  certain  occasion,  was  compelled  to  remain  over  night  at 
a  country  inn,  where  he  found  a  large  number  of  men  engaged  in 
drinking  and  indulging  in  most  offensive  imprecations.  Stepping 
up  to  the  bar,  he  called  for  a  pitcher  of  water,  and,  handing  it  to 
the  most  profane  man  of  the  party,  urged  him,  in  tones  peculiarly 
his  own,  to  take  a  hearty  drink  now,  for  the  time  would  soon 
come,  when  in  the  next  world,  he  would  cry  in  vain  for  a  single 
drop  of  water  to  cool  his  parched  tongue.  The  truth,  together 
with  Mr.  "Whitfield's  manner,  made  a  deep  impression  upon  the 
sinner's  heart,  and  the  result  was  his  conversion.  The  Lutheran 
minister,  on  a  similar  occasion,  having  remembered  the  incident, 
concluded  to  employ  the  same  remedy,  but  without  success.  To 
his  surprise,  personal  violence  was  offered  him ;  he  was  most  se- 
verely handled. 

wouldn't  say  amen  ! 

One  of  our  ultra  revival  men,  after  having  preached  some  time 
in  his  new  charge,  said  to  the  people,  "  You  sit  here  like  stujDid 
blocks  and  say  nothing.     I  know  not  whether  I  preach  good  ser- 


556  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

mons  or  indifferent  ones.  Where  I  came  from  I  could  always  tell 
this,  for  whenever  I  said  anything  that  pleased  the  people,  or  that 
was  particularly  good,  a  number  of  persona  would  say,  '  Amrn.' 
This  would  encourage  me,  and  I  could  preach  better.  But  here  1 
never  get  any  such  encouragement."  He  then  began  his  sermon, 
and  was  soon  in  full  swing.  He  waxed  louder  and  louder,  and 
eloquence  was  at  its  height,  when  he  vociferated,  "  We  are  all 
cold  and  dead.  We  all,  minister  and  people,  need  a  revival. 
Yt)ur  sons  and  your  daughters  are  on  the  road  to  hell."  "  Amen," 
shouted  out  one  of  the  audience.  The  preacher  suddenly  stopped, 
gave  him  one  look,  and  then  scolded  the  poor  fellow  more  severely 
for  saying  "Amen,"  than  he  had  some  time  before  for  not  saying 
it.  The  old  fellow  muttered,  as  he  came  out  church,  "  He  may 
say  amen  himself  next  time." — D.  H.  B. 


Being  at  Synod,  in  a  Maryland  village,  I,  with  some  other  min- 
isters, was  invited  to  dine  at  the  house  of  the  purse-proud  and 
conceited  nabob  of  the  place.  He  was  lord  of  the  manor,  and  a 
country  magistrate  of  great  self-consequence  He  was  never  con- 
tradicted, and  claimed  the  right  of  saying  what  he  pleased.  He 
handed  me  the  celery,  which  he  pronounced  salary,  saying,  in  a 
sneering  tone,  "  Mr.  M.,  take  a  piece  of  salary,  for  I  believe  most 
preachers  like  salary  !  "  "  Yes,"  retorted  I,  "  They  love  celery, 
but  hate  bad  puns !  Your  dinner  is  better  than  your  joke,  and 
your  wine  is  better  than  your  wit!"  He  lost  his  appetite  after 
that,  and  never  forgave  me. 

A    MODEL    REVIVAL. 

An  old-fashioned  minister  found  his  young  people  attending  a 
Methodist  revival,  and  some  leaving  him.  Upon  this,  he  made  an 
appointment  in  the  following  language  :  "  To-morrow  evening 
we  will  hold  a  revival  in  this  house."  The  evening  came,  and 
the  house  was  crowded.  A  young  man  preached  the  sermon,  At 
the  end  of  the  sermon,  the  old  pastor  arose  and  said,  "  Now  let 
all  the  young  gentlemen,  who  wish  to  be  prayed  for,  come  forward 
and  kneel  around  the  altar."  Some  dozens  of  young  men  obeyed 
the  invitation,  and  the  old  man  kneeled  down  and  prayed,  not  for- 
getting "  God's  ancient  people,  the  Jews,"  in  the  course  of  his  sup- 
plications. He  then  arose  and  said,  "  The  young  gentlemen  will 
now  go  to  their  seats,  and  the  young  ladies  will  surround  the  al- 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  557 

tar."  Some  scores  of  young  ladies  obeyed  the  summons,  and  the 
good  old  man  went  through  the  same  long,  tedious  prayer,  tot  for- 
getting the  "  ancient  people."  He  then  arose,  remanded  the  young 
ladies  to  their  seats,  and  appointed  a  revival  for  next  evening,  and 
dismissed  the  congregation.  The  next  evening  came,  but  all  the 
young  men  and  young  ladies  were  at  the  Methodist  church,  and 
remained  there. — D.  H.  B. 

A    JUVENILE    PREACHER. 

Many  years  ago,  I  repeatedly  met  Rev,  R.  S.  We  preached  to- 
gether at  special  Conferences  and  Synods.  I  had  always  respected 
him  for  German  integrity  and  honesty.  When  his  elder  son  was 
abouc  half  a  dozen  years  old,  being  amart,  the  father  got  him  into 
his  pulpit  to  deliver  Utile,  short  sermons,  which  he  had  memorized. 
He  acquitted  himself  pretty  well  as  a  child;  and  this  caused  the 
elated  parent  to  boast  of  it.  And,  lo !  it  came  to  the  ears  of  our 
very  venerable  President  of  the  Maryland  and  Virginia  Synod, 
the  Rev.  Daniel  Kurtz,  D.  D.,  while  Synod  met  at  Cumberland, 
over  sixty  years  ago.  The  worthy  President  was  much  displeased, 
and  publicly  reprimanded  the  father  for  desecration  of  the  holy 
oflBce.  This  influenced  him  to  leave  our  Synod  and  attach  himself 
to   another.     I   was  sorry  for  him,  but  it  could  not  be  avoided. 

— A.  R. 

THE    TWO    STUDENTS. 

In  the  early  history  of  the  institutions  at  G.,  two  students  came 
there  from  the  same  neighborhood  at  the  same  time.  The  one  had 
seen  some  little  of  the  world,  and  thought  he  knew  more  than  he 
did,  but  had  no  brains.  The  other  was  very  green,  and  had  a 
poor  opinion  of  himself,  but  had  a  splendid  mind  in  its  raw  state. 
The  "  Brotherhood"  was  then  in  full  blast,  and  I  had  the  honor 
of  being  at  the  head  of  the  establishment.  So  Prof.  S.  sent  the 
two  new  men  to  me,  to  see  if  I  could  make  room  for  them.  Mr. 
G.  had  brass  enough  in  his  composition  to  make  a  lawyer,  whilst 
Mr.  B.  was  very  modest.  So  when  they  came  to  my  room,  I  asked 
Mr.  G.  who  came  with  him?  He  replied,  "Oh,  nobody  btit  this 
dumb  fellow."  Well,  the  dumb  fellow  sat  back  in  the  corner,  and 
had  nothing  to  say.  I  made  room  for  them  in  the  "  Brotherhood," 
and  they  set  into  study.  Mr.  G.  had  no  mind,  and  nothing  could 
be  made  of  him.  He  nibbled  on  through  the  Latin  Grammar,  but 
Greek  remained  Greek  to  him.     Mr.  B.  studied  successfully,  and 


558  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

few  students  could  keep  up  to  him.  Mr.  G.  was  admitted  to  the 
ministry  somewhere  in  the  West,  but  never  accomplished  anything. 
Mr.  B.  graduated  in  the  college  with  honor,  passed  through  the 
seminary,  entered  the  ministry,  was  a  very  efficient  pastor,  and  is 
now  a  D.  D.,  and  at  the  head  of  an  institution  of  no  mean  position. 
We  are  often  deceived  by  appearances,  and  we  can  learn  from 
this,  that  the  bold  and  forward,  are  not  always  the  most  tal- 
ented.— R.  w. 

THE    TRIALS   OF   BENEFICIARIES. 

In  the  beginning  of  our  educational  operations,  most  of  the 
young  men  at  Gettysburg  Seminary  boarded  in  clubs.  They 
bought  their  own  provisions,  and  employed  some  woman  to  cook 
them  at  her  own  house,  where  the  students  went  to  take  their 
frugal  meals.  One  morning,  the  coffee  had  a  peculiar  and  unusual 
taste.  Each  man  swallowed  a  portion  and  made  a  wry  face. 
They  looked  at  each  other,  and  every  visage  bore  evidence  of 
disgust.  One's  face  was  elongated,  another's  nose  was  wrinkled, 
another's  cheeks  were  distended,  another's  eyes  were  closed, 
another's  jaws  hung  down,  and  all  presented  a  most  lugubrious 
aspect.  One  declared  that  the  cook  had  boiled  unroasted  or  green 
coffee,  another  thought  that  verdigris  had  gathered  in  the  coffee 
pot  or  water  kettle,  and  one  was  sure  that  poison  had  been  put 
into  the  beverage.  At  this  annunciation,  several  began  to  feel 
uneasy  below,  and  betrayed  symjDtoms  of  vomiting,  and  all  turned 
pale.  A  few  concluded  it  was  all  over  with  them  now,  and  how 
could  the  church  get  along  without  them  ?  They  began  to  think 
of  adjourning  the  breakfast  to  a  prayer-meeting,  and  preparing 
for  a  sudden  end.  One  of  them,  who  has  since  become  a  Doctor 
of  Divinity  and  the  President  of  a  college,  bethought  himself  of 
examining  the  vessel,  in  which  the  coffee  had  been  brought  upon 
the  table,  and  after  pouring  out  the  nasty  liquid,  discovered  at 
the  bottom  a  huge  plug  of  tobacco  boiled  to  leaves,  with  loose 
portions  floating  all  through  the  abominable  stuff.  The  cook 
could  not  account  for  it,  but  it  cured  some  of  them,  and  they 
henceforth  foreswore  the  use  of  coffee  and  tobacco,  especially  as 
an  ingredient  of  their  customary  morning  potation. — R.  w. 

THE   VITALITY    OF    LUTHERANISM. 

Lutheranism  is  a  hardy  plant.  It  thrives  in  all  climates,  and 
under  all  circumstances,  and  is  hard  to  exterminate.     It  is  of  God- 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  559 

planting,  and  cannot  be  plucked  up.  We  give  the  following  as 
one  of  many  instances.  About  forty  years  ago  the  Rev.  S.,  a 
most  pious  and  excellent  young  Lutheran  minister,  was  called  to 
the  pastorate  of  the  Lutheran  church  at  M.  He  was  full  of  life 
and  fire.  His  preaching  took  effect  upon  the  hearts  of  the  people. 
An  extensive  revival  followed.  Many  souls  were  awakened,  and 
there  was  a  very  great  excitement.  Poor  Bro.  S.  was  himself 
made  of  very  excitable  material,  and  contrary  to  the  convictions 
of  his  better  judgment,  he  was  also  carried  away  in  the  mael- 
strom of  physical  excitement.  His  members  became  fanatical, 
and,  under  the  pressure  of  excitement,  ran  every  thing  into  the 
ground.  Some  few  of  the  older,  and  more  grave  and  intelligent 
members  of  the  church,  resisted  this  new  style  of  Lutheranism, 
and  contended  for  the  good  old  ways  of  their  fathers.  The  church 
split,  the  great  body  of  the  members  going  with  the  new  party, 
leaving  the  few  firm  old  Lutherans  in  a  hopeless  minority.  The 
new  party,  as  they  supposed,  with  the  wealth,  the  members,  and 
all  the  piety  on  their  side,  would  no  doubt  carry  away  the  palm. 
They  built  a  new  church ;  they  were  not  going  to  remain  in  the 
old  rat  hole — no  not  they  !  They  were  going  to  have  a  purer  and 
a  holier  church,  a  church  in  which  every  man  would  be  converted. 
Well,  they  built  their  church,  and  went  out  from  the  old  rat  hole, 
and  set  up  for  themselves.  But  alas !  they  soon  found  that  some 
of  their  members  were  not  as  perfect  as  the  angels.  Like  all  the 
sects  that  have  gone  out  of  other  churches  for  the  sake  of  having 
a  perfectly  pure  church,  they  found  that  the  good  and  bad  must 
exist  together  in  this  imperfect  world.  Poor  Bro.  S.  was  driven 
away.  The  brethren  thought  it  would  go  better  with  a  new 
pastor,  one  that  did  not  know  them  so  well.  But  alas !  it  still 
went  down,  down,  down,  until  their  congregation  was  scattered  to 
the  four  winds  !  The  last  we  heard  of  those  reformed  Lutherans, 
was  that  they  had  become  Millerites,  and  were  among  those  who 
had  their  ascension  robes  ready  to  go  up  to  glory  !  The  church  is 
long  since  among  the  things  that  were.  Like  Moses,  it  is  dead, 
and  buried,  but  no  man  knoweth  unto  this  day  where  it  is  buried. 
Mr.  S.  has  long  since  seen  the  errors  of  his  youthful  zeal  without 
knowledge,  and  has  been  and  is  still  laboring  faithfully,  and  with 
acceptance  and  success,  in  the  old  Lutheran  vineyard  that  hath 
not  been  destroyed  by  the  wild  boar  of  the  forest. 

And  now  for  the  old  rat  hole.     Few  cases  have  occurred  where 


560  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Lutheranism  had  a  better  opportunity  to  give  the  world  an  exhi- 
bition of  its  vitality.  Here  it  was  an  old  dilapidated  building, 
surrounded  by  a  fanatical  atmosphere,  with  nearly  all  its  young 
material  driven  off — only  a  few  old  people  left — the  prospects 
were  indeed  dark  and  gloomy.     But  their  motto  was : 

"  Gottes  Wort,  und  Luther's  Lehr, 
Vergehen  nun  und  nimmermehr." 

They  raised  the  old  Lutheran  standard,  and  the  friends  of 
Bible  religion  clustered  around  it.  It  is  now  a  large  flourishing 
and  efficient  congregation.     What  hath  not  God  wrought? 

True  Lutheranism  never  dies ;  it  is  immortal.  Two  hundred 
years  ago  it  was  planted  on  the  frozen  shores  of  Iceland,  and  it  is 
still  there  in  a  flourishing  condition.  It  was  planted  nearly  a 
century  ago  on  the  burning  plains  of  India,  and  is  still  there, 
bearing  like  the  palm  tree,  its  precious  fruit.  Where  it  once 
gets  a  foot  hold  it  remains. — R.  w. 

DANGEROUS  IMITATION. 

One  of  our  most  eminent  ministers,  at  present,  some  years  ago 
preached  in  W His  peculiarity  of  gesture  was  the  sub- 
ject of  conversation  next  day  in  a  store.  A  young  Methodist 
preacher,  who  was  present,  said  he  would  "  take  him  off,"  and, 
mounting  a  stool,  began  to  imitate  his  wild  gestures.  By  a  singu- 
lar mischance  he  slipped,  and  falling  in  a  particular  way,  broke 
his  leg.  This  was  told  to  our  preacher  next  morning.  He  re- 
marked "  he  was  lucky,  very  lucky  ;  it  is  a  wonder  he  did  not 
break  his  neck.  The  foolish  fellow  might  have  known  that  any 
attempt  to  imitate  me  would  end  disastrously." — D.  H.  B. 

A  SINGULAR  TEMPTATION  MET. 

Some  years  ago,  a  very  active  and  worthy  lady  member  of  the 
Lutheran  Church  became  quite  prepossessed  in  favor  of  the  Epis- 
copalians. Why,  she  could  not  exactly  tell ;  but  she  could  not 
rid  herself  of  the  notion  that  she  ought  to  become  an  Episcopa- 
lian. Her  surroundings  were  such  that  there  were  very  strong 
considerations  in  her  way,  which  she  did  not  feel  quite  at  liberty 
to  disregard  to  such  an  extent  as  the  change  would  require. 
Neither  had  she  any  objection  to  the  Lutheran  Church,  or  its  con- 
fession. She  had  always  worked  cheerfully  in  it,  brought  up  her 
children  in  it,  and,  indeed,  knew  no  gospel  but  that  which  the 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  561 

Lutheran  Church  had  tauglit  her,  and  which  all  her  relatives  and 
connections  heartily  accepted.  Still,  she  was  pursued  and  haunted 
with  the  idea  that  she  ought  to  be  an  Episcopalian. 

Meeting  her  pastor  one  day  in  the  presence  of  her  family,  she 
recounted  her  feelings  and  her  trouble  in  this  respect,  and  at  the 
end,  said  :  "  Do  tell  me,  what  is  the  reason  that  the  devil  tem2:)ts 
and  torments  me  in  this  way?" 

The  minister  gravely  answered  :  "  I  do  not  know,  madame,  un- 
less it  is  that  he  wishes  to  make  an  Episcopalian  of  you." 

The  lady  blushed,  the  family  laughed,  the  subject  was  changed, 
and  the  transfer  has  not  been  made. — j.  A,  s. 


The  sainted  Rev.  F.  V.  Melsheimer,  my  most  worthy  professor, 
had  several  peculiarities.  He  was  a  great  linguist,  theologian, 
&c.,  &c.  He  had  been  President  and  Professor  of  our  Lutheran 
and  German  Reformed  College,  at  Lancaster,  Pa.,  then  pastor  of 
the  Hanover  Pastorate.  Here  he  attended  to  as  many  students 
of  theology  as  he  could  board.  Myself  was  one  of  the  last  classes, 
nearly  sixty  years  ago.  He  was  a  very  good  preacher,  but  he 
could  not  look  his  auditory  in  the  face,  from  great  timidity,  and 
hence  he  always  fixed  his  eye  on  one  spot  on  the  facing  of  the 
gallery.  When  a  thunder-storm  occurred,  if  practicable,  he  would 
lie  down  between  two  feather  beds,  as  nonconductors.  His  son 
John  inherited  the  same  infirmity.  This  was  evident  in  the  fact, 
when  he  was  to  preach  a  funeral  sermon  at  Kreutzkirch,  his  first 
attempt.  He  rode  up  in  sight  of  the  church,  when  his  courage  failed 
him ;  he  dismounted  at  a  farmhouse  and  watched  until  the  folks, 
after  waiting  a  considerable  time  for  his  arrival  and  promised 
service,  began  to  disperse  after  burying  the  dead ;  then  only  he 
mounted  his  horse  and  galloped  up  to  the  church — and  lo !  they 
were  all  gone.  On  his  return  his  father  asked  him  how  he  got 
along  in  his  first  attempt  to  preach ;  he  replied,  to  the  great  sur- 
prise and  chagrin  of  his  father,  that  they  were  all  gone  when  he 
arrived.  His  father  never  got  at  the  secret  until  a  few  years  after, 
when  he  happened  to  stop  at  the  same  house.  This  both  aggra- 
vated and  amused  his  father.  And  then  he,  after  his  licensure, 
was  sent  to  Shepherdstown,  Va.,  as  Pastor ;  he  soon  resigned  his 
pastorate,  from  timidity,  and  went  to  the  practice  of  medicine,  until 
his  father  died,  and  he  was  called  to  Hanover,  filling  his  father's 
place.     "  The  fear  of  man  bringeth  a  snare." — A.  R. 


562  FIFYT   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY. 

AN    EMBARRASSED    HEARER, 

A  minister  of  our  church  was  in  the  habit,  some  years  ago,  of 
translating  his  German  sermons,  and  then  preaching  them  in 
English.  There  was  in  his  charge  a  numerous  family  by  the  name 
of  Patter,  one  of  whom  was  called  Sammy.  He  preached  a  ser- 
mon in  German  on  the  subject  of  "  Der  Gute  Samariter,"  which 
he  pronounced  in  English,  the  good  Sama-ritter.  He  lauded 
Sammy  Bitter  to  the  very  heavens,  and  poor  Sammy,  being 
present,  could  not  for  the  life  of  him  imagine  what  had  gotten 
into  the  preacher,  and  became  so  confused  that  he  rushed  from 
the  church,  unable  to  identify  himself. — D.  h.  b. 

STAY    ON    THE    GRIDDLE. 

Some  years  ago,  one  of  our  clergymen  preached  on  the  text, 
"  Ephraim  is  a  cake  not  turned."  He  said  that  a  cake  not  turned 
is  a  cake  baked  only  on  one  side,  half-baked,  neither  soft  nor 
hard,  neither  bread  nor  dough,  but  a  something  between  the  two, 
not  fit  for  use,  disagreeable,  and  destined  to  be  cast  away.  This, 
he  said,  was  the  character  of  some  of  the  Jewish  people  in  the 
prophet's  time,  and  is  the  character  of  many  modern  professors  of 
Christianity.  The  world  seemed  to  be  made  up  of  three  classes  : 
Full-hearted,  earnest  and  thorough  Christians  ;  those  who  make 
no  pretensions  whatever  to  Christian  faith  and  devotion ;  and  a 
third  class,  between  these  two,  composed  of  such  as  cannot  shake 
off  all  religious  affections,  accede  to  the  requirements  of  Chris- 
tianity in  general,  exhibit  many  points  of  true  excellence,  but 
still  hold  back  in  some  matters  which  are  needful  to  make  them 
exemplary  or  satisfactory  believers. 

One  of  his  parishioners  came  to  him  afterwards,  expressing  some 
anxiety  and  perplexity  as  to  what  she  ought  to  do,  as  she  was 
pretty  well  convinced  that  she  belonged  to  the  middle  class,  and 
did  not  wish  to  continue  in  that  particular  fellowship.  She 
seemed  to  be  conscious  of  a  sort  of  half-and-half  state  of  mind 
and  character,  which  she  wished  to  know  how  to  cure.  She  even 
expressed  serious  doubts  whether  it  was  worth  her  while  to  con- 
tinue her  attentions  to  the  church  and  religious  duties,  feeling  as 
if  it  were  not  right  to  remain  in  such  a  feeble  state  of  devoted- 
ness  and  still  not  be  able  to  make  the  necessary  advances  on 
what  she  had  been.  She  said  she  knew  she  was  only  half-baked, 
and  what  should  she  do  ? 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  563 

The  clergyman  said  to  her  :  "  Well,  madam,  I  advise  you  to  stay 
on  the  griddle.''  It  Avas  enough.  The  lady  tells  the  story  to  her 
friends  with  much  zest,  as  having  been  to  her  a  word  of  great 
comprehensiveness,  value  and  encouragement.  She  says  she  has 
been  following  the  advice,  and  believes  that  it  has  helped  her  to 
be  a  better  woman. — j.  a.  s. 


About  thirty-five  years  ago  Rev.  J.  Scherer  was  pastor  of  St. 
John's  Church  in  Soiith-Western  Virginia.  At  that  time  hymn 
books  were  scarce ;  perhaps  there  were  not  half  a  dozen  in  the 
congregation.  The  man  who  "  raised  the  tune "  had  none. 
Father  S.  parceled  out  the  hymn  by  twos,  as  was  the  custom. 
After  reading  the  last  lines  he  quickly  laid  down  his  hymn  book, 
opened  his  Bible,  and  as  soon  as  the  singing  ceased,  read  his  text, 
"  This  is  a  faithful  saying,"  &c.  The  "  Clerk  "  supposing  it  was  a 
continuation  of  the  hymn,  commenced  singing  the  text !  The 
preacher  put  a  stop  to  it  by  hammering  upon  the  pulpit,  saying, 
"  These  are  the  words  from  which  I  wish  to  address  you." — j.  a.  b. 


Once  on  a  time  he  was  called  on  to  baptize  an  infant  in  a  pri- 
vate house.  Having  asked  the  name  of  the  child,  "Sam,"  said 
the  father.  The  preacher  proceeded.  "  Samuel,  I  baptize  you." 
"  Not  Sam,ueV  said  the  father,  "  Sam."  Father  Scherer  attempted 
to  explain,  saying  that  Sam  was  only  a  contraction  of  Samuel, 
which  was  the  proper  name,  and  again  continued,  "Samuel,  I 
baptize  you."  "  Not  Samuel,  I  say,  Sam,"  exclaimed  the  father, 
and  his  demand  had  to  be  complied  with. — J.  a.  b. 


He  was  requested,  on  one  occasion,  to  attempt  a  reconciliation 
between  two  of  his  parishioners  who  had  gotten  into  a  difficulty 
about  the  location  of  a  road.  Father  S.  heard  each  party  give 
his  version  of  the  matter  in  a  very  excited  manner,  and  after  a 
few  moments  pause,  simply  remarked,  "  Well,  all  I  have  to  say  to 
you,  brethren,  is,  that  whilst  you  are  quarreling  about  your  roads 
here,  take  care  that  the  road  to  heaven  is  not  shut  up  to  you," 
and  extending  his  hand  gave  them  good  bye.  That  remark 
accomplished  more  than  an  hours'  harangue. — J.  a.  b. 


564  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

THE  ECCENTRIC  STUDENT  WITH  AN  IRON  CONSTITUTION, 

If  the  normal  condition  of  a  good  student  be,  as  some  say,  "  a 
sound  mind  in  a  sound  body,"  then  Mr.  K.  must  have  been  a  good 
student,  especially  in  so  far  as  the  body  is  concerned.  He  was  a 
German,  a  full-grown  German  in  soul  and  body.  His  frame  was 
square,  solid,  and  plump.  He  had  a  broad  Teutonic  chest,  a  full, 
round  Lutheran  face,  and  a  strong  pair  of  leathern  lungs.  His 
voice  was  strong,  coarse  and  guttural,  just  made  for  the  German 
language.  Mr.  K's  mind  partook  to  some  extent  of  the  qxialities 
of  his  rough  and  athletic  body.  He  was  rather  dull  and  slow  in 
his  intellectual  movements ;  it  always  took  him  some  time  to  get 
even  a  plain  idea  fairly  fixed  in  his  mind,  but  when  he  got  it  there 
it  generally  stuck.  We  were  students  together  at  Gettysburg 
forty  years  ago,  and  I  had  a  good  opportunity  of  studying  this 
queer  specimen  of  the  Genus  Homo,  for  it  was  my  misfortune  to 
be  his  room-mate  for  a  whole  winter.  Like  most  of  his  country- 
men, he  was  genial  and  kind-hearted  when  he  was  in  a  good 
humor,  but  passionate  and  unreasonable  when  angry.  He  was 
quick  as  powder.  Poor  K.  wanted  to  be  pious,  but  it  was 
hard  work  for  him  ;  he  could  not  govern  himself;  often  for  the  most 
trivial  thing  he  would  become  excited  to  such  a  degree  that  he 
would  foam  with  pure  rage.  But  he  Avas  what  may  be  called  a  hard 
student.  He  had  not  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  an  early  classical 
education,  and  as  he  had  to  keep  up  with  the  class  in  Greek  Exe- 
gesis, it  worked  him  hard.  He  had  an  inquisitive  mind,  and  was 
not  destitute  of  intellectual  pride,  hence  he  would  not  leave  a 
Greek  word  until  he  knew  all  about  it.  I  have  known  him  to 
pour  over  his  Greek  Testament  and  Lexicon  all  night,  and  never 
close  an  eye.  More  than  once  have  I  gone  to  bed,  at  a  proper 
hour,  and  in  the  morning,  when  I  awoke,  there  stood  (for  he  most 
studied  in  that  position)  the  man  with  the  iron  constitution.  If 
ever  a  man  "  trimmed  the  midnight  lamp,"  it  was  he.  Then  he 
would  continue  his  studies  all  day  too ;  not  a  moment  would  he 
waste.  He  took  no  relaxation,  his  whole  student-life  was  study, 
study,  study.  In  his  deportment  he  was  stern  and  serious ;  life 
with  him  seemed  to  be  one  continued  stream  of  moroseness,  except 
when  broken  in  upon  by  anger.  Such  was  the  violence  of  his 
temper  that  those  students  who  had  offended  him,  had  to  keep  out 
of  his  way  until  his  anger  had  subsided.  Woe  be  to  the  wight 
who  would  play  a  trick  on  him  !     Mr.  K.  at  last  left  the  seminary, 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  565 

and  received  a  license  from  the  West  Pennsylvania  Synod.  He 
was  sent  out  into  the  mountains  of  Pennsylvania  to  hunt  up  the 
scattered  Lutherans.  As  a  missionary  he  accompli.shed  some 
good,  but  as  a  settled  pastor  he  never  succeeded.  He  was  once 
invited  to  preach  to  a  German  congregation,  on  the  Alleghany 
mountains,  as  a  candidate.  The  roads  were  very  rough  and  rocky, 
especially  the  one  that  led  to  the  church ;  it  was  almost  impassable. 
And  when  within  sight  of  the  church,  his  horse  stumbled  over  a 
large  stump,  and  threw  him  sprawling  into  a  mud  hole  !  Here 
was  a  fix,  and  some  cause  for  his  wrath  to  take  fire.  When  he 
came  to  church  he  was  covered  with  mud,  and  immediately  let 
loose  upon  the  members  for  not  mending  their  ways.  "  Why,"  says 
he,  "  I  venture  to  say  the  heathen  have  better  roads  to  their  tem- 
ples, and  you  have  no  better  roads — you  are  no  christians — you 
are  not  fit  to  have  the  gospel  preached  to  you."  The  poor,  innocent 
people  looked  on  with  amazement,  and  soon  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  such  an  angry  pastor  would  not  suit  them.  So  poor  K.  had 
to  continue  his  inission  work.  Mr.  K.  was  very  much  opjiosed  to 
noisy  and  extravagant  meetings.  We  students  used  to  have 
preaching  at  school-houses  and  private  houses.  On  one  occasion, 
the  Allbrights,  who  are  a  very  noisy  set  of  christians,  got  one  of 
their  revivals  started  at  one  of  our  preatihing  places.  The  meet- 
ing was  one,  as  they  call  it,  of  "  great  power ;  "  the  noise  and 
confusion  were  very  great.  I  had  heard  of  it,  and  expected  a 
scene  when  I  would  have  to  preach  there  in  my  turn.  I  prevailed 
on  Mr.  K.  to  go  with  me.  Long  before  we  came  to  the  house  we 
heard  the  loud  singing  and  shouting.  The  AlJbright  preachers  had 
got  there  before  us,  and  had  commenced  the  meeting.  When  we 
entered  the  private  house  in  which  the  meeting  was  held,  the 
scene  that  we  witnessed  was  beyond  description  ;  some  were  sing- 
ing with  the  "holy  swing,"  &c.,  rocking  to  and  fro,  clapping  their 
hands  and  stamping  their  feet — others  were  shouting  at  the  top  of 
their  voices — others  stretched  out  on  the  floor — itwas  an  awful  scene. 
So  we  remained  in  the  kitchen  for  some  time.  At  last  Mr.  K.  said,. 
"Let  us  go  in  and  preach."  "Oh  no,"  I  replied, "we  can't  do  anything 
here."  "Yes  we  can."  So  in  we  went.  Mr.  K.  took  the  hymn  book, 
and  commanded  order  with  his  rough,  harsh  voice.  "  I  want  you 
to  be  still ;  this  is  not  the  way  to  worship  God ;  bodily  exercise 
will  not  save  your  souls,"  and  gave  them  a  terrible  overhauling. 
All  became  silent  as  the  grave  ;  he  j^reached  them  a  good,  faithful 

36 


566  FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

gospel  sermon  on  Faith  in  Christ,  which  no  doubt  did  the  people 
ten  times  more  good  in  the  end  than  their  noisy  and  turbulent 
meetings.  Poor  K.  has  long  since  gone  to  his  reward,  and  it  is 
hoped  has  been  cleaned  and  purified  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb. — 
A.  w. 

SINGULAR    CIRCUMSTANCE. 

A  Synod  was  held  at ,  on  which  occasion  there  was  an 

applicant  for  ordination.  tSome  time  previous  he  was  called  upon 
to  baptize  a  sick  child.  He  went,  and  the  child  died  in  the  arms 
of  its  mother  during  the  ceremony.  A  charge  was  brought 
against  his  application  to  the  effect  that  he  had  baptized  a  dead 
child.  He  thought  this  charge  too  futile  to  merit  even  a  refuta- 
tion. The  consequence  was  that  he  was  denied  ordination.  His 
brother  and  another  man,  two  ordained  ministers,  took  him  to  a 
large  oak  tree  near  the  church,  and  ordained  him,  and  they  three 
formed  a  new  Synod.  In  a  few  weeks  afterwards  the  lightning 
struck  the  oak  tree  and  shivered  it  to  splinters,  down  to  the  very 
roots. — D.  H.  B. 

REV.    JESSE    HOOVER,   OUR    FIRST    LUTHERAN    MISSIONARY    TO    THE 

FAR   WEST. 

This  enterprising  pioneer  of  our  church  was  born  in  Dover, 
York  county.  Pa.,  in  1809.  He  was,  like  myself,  instructed  in 
the  principles  of  religion  and  confirmed  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  J.  G. 
Schmucker,  in  1828.  He  came  to  Gettysburg,  I  think,  in  the  fall 
of  1829.  He  was  an  apt  scholar  and  a  diligent  student,  and,  of 
course,  made  rajDid  progress.  He  had  enjoyed  the  advantages  of 
a  good  common-school  education.  He  was  a  short,  thick-set  man, 
somewhat  under  the  average  size  of  men.  He  was  full  of  life  and 
animation,  and  was  a  genial  and  pleasant  companion,  and  was,  of 
course,  a  general  favorite  among  the  students.  He  was  a  member 
of  our  "  Famous  Brotherhood,"  and  remained  a  prominent  mem- 
ber of  it  until  it  broke  up,  on  the  completion  of  the  seminary 
building,  when  the  students  were  all  requix'ed  to  take  rooms  there. 

In  his  piety  he  was  exemplary  and  consistent.  He  had  a  great 
flow  of  spirits,  and  was  a  man  of  great  energy  and  perseverance. 
What  he  undertook  to  do,  he  did  with  all  his  might.  As  an  illus- 
tration, I  think  it  was  in  1830,  when  the  mechanical  labor  scheme 
that  had  been  started  at  Andover  reached  Gettysburg,  and,  en- 
couraged by  Prof.  Schmucker,  we  also  determined  to  set  up  a  the- 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  5G7 

ological  carpenter  shop.  Prof.  Schmucker  gave  us  fifty  dollars,  and 
requested  all  the  theological  students  to  collect  funds  for  the  pur- 
pose of  purchasing  tools ;  so  each  one  had  his  little  book.  I  went 
to  York,  and,  by  the  aid  of  Dr.  J.  G.  Schmucker,  C.  A.  Morris 
and  Philip  Smyser,  I  raised  some  sixty  dollars.  I  congratulated 
myself  with  the  certainty  that  I  would,  of  course,  be  able  to  return 
more  money  than  any  other  one.  But  I  was  sadly  disappoint- 
ed— Brother  Hoover  was  fifteen  dollars  ahead  of  me  !  He  had 
collected,  by  little  driblets,  seventy-five  dollars  in  and  about 
Dover. 

I  left  Gettysburg  in  the  fall  of  1832 ;  in  1833  Brother  Hoover 
left  Gettysburg.  He  took  charge  of  a  private  school  in  Hagers- 
town  that  had  been  taught  by  Rev.  S.  K.  Hoshour,  the  latter 
having  taken  charge  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  that  place. 

As  students,  the  subject  of  missions  was  often  discussed  among 
us.  Brother  Hoover  had  made  up  his  mind  to  become  a  mis- 
sionary in  the  West ;  so,  in  1834,  I  think,  he  started  for  the  far 
We.st,  and  located  in  Fort  "Wayne,  Indiana,  where  he  commenced 
his  work.  I  had  a  number  of  letters  from  him  whilst  laboring 
under  great  difficulties.  How  long  he  labored  there  I  have  for- 
gotten, but  not  long  ;  for  he  soon  fell  a  martyr  to  the  then  inhos- 
pitable climate.  He  died,  as  almost  every  third  man  did  in  those 
early  days,  of  the  fever  common  in  the  swamps  of  Indiana.  He 
was  the  first  of  the  noble  band  of  Lutheran  missionaries  who  pen- 
etrated into  the  miasmatic  regions  of  the  far  West.  I  think  Eev. 
W.  G.  Keil,  J.  Henry  Hoffman  and  M.  Ruth,  and  perhaps  Rev. 
Mr.  Greenwald,  had  settled  in  Ohio  before  1834;  but  none  of  our 
men  had  gone  so  far  West  as  Fort  Wayne.  I  do  not  know  where 
Brother  Hoover  received  his  license — perhaps  from  the  Synod  of 
Maryland,  before  he  started  for  the  West. 

Soon  after  1834,  Rev.  A.  A.  Trimper,  Jacob  Sherer  and  Count 
Lehmanowsky  went  to  the  far  West,  and  formed  the  Synod  of  the 
West.  This  Synod  included  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan,  Ken- 
tucky, and  all  the  "  regions  round  about."  It  would  require 
some  considerable  counting  now  to  tell  how  many  Synods — Eng- 
lish, German  ^nd  Scandinavian — have  grown  out  of  the  Synod  of 
the  West.  There  are  now  on  that  field  perhaps  not  less  than 
twenty  Synods,  and  nearly  half  the  Lutherans  in  the  United 
States.  What  a  wonderful  change  in  forty-three  years  !  Who 
would  have  thought,  in  1834,  when  a  solitary  young  man  located 


568  FIFTY    YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

in  the  swampy  and  miasmatic  regions  of  Indiana,  and  commenced 
gathering  a  few  poor  Germans  into  a  Lutheran  congregation  in 
Fort  Wayne,  that  in  so  short  a  time  the  Lutherans  should  be 
counted  by  hundreds  of  thousands? 

Brother  Hoover  once  wrote  to  me  thus  :  "  I  am  laboring  here 
to  build  up  a  church,  but  it  is  hard  work.  I  have  a  few  good, 
substantial  members ;  but  many  who  call  themselves  Lutherans 
are  a  disgrace  to  our  church,  and  I  do  not  know  what  the  result 
of  my  labors  will  be.  We  have  secured  a  house  (such  as  it  is)  in 
which  we  can  now  worship.  I  sometimes  think  of  giving  up  the 
work  and  returning  to  the  East ;  but,  as  I  came  out  here  to  raise 
the  standard  of  Lutheranism,  by  the  help  of  God  I'll  do  it." 
And  he  did  it,  but  at  the  expense  of  his  life.  He  fell  at  his  post, 
with  his  harness  on.  When  the  General  Synod  met  at  Fort 
Wayne,  in  1864,  I  was  there,  and  I  went  out  to  the  cemetery  and 
found  a  neat  tombstone  erected  by  the  congregation  over  his  re- 
mains: "To  the  Memory  of  Rev.  Jesse  Hoover,  Pastor  of  the 
Lutheran  Congregation  of  Fort  Wayne."  Although  it  was  nearly 
thirty  years  after  his  death,  I  could  not  help  but  shed  tears  over 
the  remembrance  of  a  dear  friend  and  beloved  fellow-student. 
And  when  I  stood  at  his  lonely  grave,  and  memory  called  up  to 
my  mental  view  the  image  of  my  departed  brother,  I  could  not 
but  admire  the  courage  and  moral  heroism  that  had  led  him  on 
to  make  the  sacrifices  that  he  had  to  make.  While  standing  at 
his  grave  the  thoughts  of  James  Montgomery  occurred  to  my 
mind  :   "  Servant  of  God,  well  done."— R.  W. 

OVERSETTING   A    SERMON. 

A  minister  of  ours  once  attended  the  religious  service  of  one  of 
the  smaller  of  the  German  sects.  There  were  two  preachers 
present,  and  one  of  them  said  in  the  beginning,  "  Brother  Schmitz 
will  breach  in  Sharman,  and  denn  I  will  overset  it  in  English." 
He  meant  translate,  literally  rendering  the  German  word  uebersetz, 
but  the  English  overset  conveys  quite  a  different  idea. 

"  HE    FELL    TO    EXHORTIN." 

An  elder  of  one  of  our  country  churches  once  described  the 
effect  of  his  minister  losing  his  manuscript,  by  the  wind  blowing 
it  off  from  the  pulpit,  one  day  in  summer,  when  the  window  was 
open.      He  said,  "  Look,  die  wint  plowed  it  off  and  none  of  dem 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  569 

stupid  councilmen  had  sense  enough  to  bick  it  up  and  hant  it  to 
him.  Veil,  you  see,  his  sarment  was  gone,  and  vot  could  he  do? 
He  straitway  Jell  to  exhortin. 

IN    DANGER   OF    BACKSLIDING. 

A  minister  of  our  church  once  told  me  that  in  his  vicinity,  two 
female  members  of  another  denomination,  whose  houses  joined 
each  other,  were,  one  day,  engaged  in  a  most  violent  altercation 
across  the  garden  fence.  The  most  opprobious  epithets  were  freely 
interchanged,  and,  in  general,  language  more  forcible  than  chaste 
or  polite  was  mutually  used.  The  poor,  henpecked  husband  of 
one  of  them,  who,  from  painful  experience,  knew  that  it  was  at 
his  peril  to  interfere  resolutely  in  his  wife's  quarrels,  or  to  oppose 
her  will  in  any  way,  stood  by  in  patient  submission  for  a  while, 
and  finally  ventured  to  remonstrate  gently,  and  laying  his  hand 
upon  her  shoulder,  in  expostulating  and  humble  tones,  said,  "  You'd 
better  take  kcer,  Betsy — don't  scold  so  much — don't  swear  so  hard, 
or  else  may  be  you  might  lose  your  religion  .'"  The  indignant  wife 
exclaimed  with  a  terrific  adjunct,  "I  feel  jist  now  as  ef  I  hadn't 
one  bit !" 

A    SLIGHT    DISAPPOINTMENT   AND    REBUKE. 

A  wealthy  and  respectable  old  gentleman  had  several  young 
and  interesting  daughters,  who  lived  in  the  country,  a  few  miles 
distant  from  one  of  our  theological  seminaries.  Two  students 
from  a  certain  city,  who  had  more  self-conceit  than  brains,  pro- 
posed visiting  these  country  lasses,  for  the  purpose  of  showing  off 
their  city  manners  and  displaying  their  irresistible  charms.  They 
openly  boasted  that  they  would  overwhelm  the  simple  minded 
and  plain  bred  daughters  of  the  Lutheran  elder.  The  old  gentle- 
man happened  to  hear  of  their  intended  visit,  and  of  their  design. 
The  students  rode  up  to  the  house,  where  they  were  very  politely 
received  by  the  father,  who  invited  them  into  the  parlor,  and 
engaged  in  a  long  conversation  about  the  seminary,  the  professors 
and  church  affairs  generally.  He  then  begged  to  be  excused  and 
left  the  room.  "  Now,"  said  they,  "  he  will  bring  in  the  ladies." 
He  soon  returned,  and  instead  of  introducing  the  daughters,  he 
brought  in  an  armful  of  magazines  and  papers,  and  said,  "  Gentle- 
men !  you  must  excuse  me,  I  must  attend  to  some  farm  business, 
but  amuse  yourselves  with  these  papers  until  I  return;  stay  and 


570  FIFYT   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAJN    MINISTRY. 

dine  with  us."  The  newspapers  had  no  interest  for  them,  and 
thus  they  were  compelled  to  pass  several  wearisome  hours.  Then 
dinner  was  announced,  at  which  they  were  introduced  to  the  family, 
but  there  was  no  opportunity  of  direct  conversation  with  the 
ladies.  After  dinner,  they  returned  to  the  parlor,  hoping  that 
surely  the  ladies  would  now  appear,  but  they  did  not  come.  Such 
was  their  disappointment,  that  they  scon  rushed  out,  ordered  their 
horses,  and  rapidly  returned  to  the  seminary. 

It  is  said  that  whenever  a  paper  is  handed  to  either  of  those 
men,  he  blushes  blue. 

DISINTERESTEDNESS. 

On  the  farm  on  which  Rev.  W.  Carpenter  (one  of  our  old  time 
preachers  in  the  South),  lived,  he  raised  more  than  was  required 
for  his  own  use.  The  surplus  he  disposed  of,  but  he  always  had 
a  fixed  price  for  his  corn.  In  his  day,  he  thought  twenty-five 
cents  a  fair  equivalent  for  a  bushel.  He  would,  however,  never 
sell  to  speculators.  On  one  occasion,  corn  rose  to  one  dollar  a 
bushel,  but  he  still  continued  to  sell  in  small  quantities  to  his 
neighbors,  for  twenty-five  cents.  Some  speculators  having  heard 
of  this,  brought  their  teams  and  proposed  to  take  all  he  had  at 
that  price.  His  reply  was,  "  No,  you  cannot  have  it  at  any  price." 
Stoever,  Sprague's  Annals,  87. 

He  was  a  man  of  great  uniformity  of  character,  faithful  to 
whatever  trust  was  committed  to  him,  unwearied  in  his  industry 
and  unostentatious  in  his  benevolence.  He  disdained  petty  in- 
trigue and  scorned  a  mean  action.  His  habits  of  life  were  plain 
and  simple,  his  aflfections  warm,  earnest  and  manly.  There  are 
many  incidents,  illustrative  of  his  peculiar  traits  of  character, 
given  by  those  who  were  brought  within  the  range  of  his  influence. 
He  was,  even  in  his  early  days,  interested  in  the  study  of  Meteor- 
ology, and  it  was  his  practice  every  night,  before  retiring,  to  walk 
out  and  observe  the  clouds.  One  night  he  discovered  that  the 
door  of  his  corn-crib  was  open,  and,  on  approaching  the  spot,  found 
a  thief  filling  his  bag.  When  the  poor  fellow  ascertained  that  he 
was  detected,  he  immediately  commenced  emptying  the  sack,  but 
Father  Carpenter  directed  him  to  fill  it,  and  also  helped  him  to 
put  it  on  his  horse.  "  Now,"  said  the  good  man,  "  go,  and  steal 
no  more  !"  As  the  offender  happened  to  be  a  neighbor,  whom  he 
did  not  wish  to  expose,  he  concealed  his  name,  even  from  his  own 
family,  and  to  this  day  it  is  unknown. 


FIFTY    YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  571 

WOODEN   BIBLE. 

At  a  late  sale  in  Frederick,  the  eflfects  of  a  book  binder  were 
sold.  Among  tlie  articles  offered,  was  his  sign,  consisting  of  a 
large  box,  made  and  painted  in  imitation  of  a  Bible.  "  That," 
said  a  papist  present,  "  I  will  buy  for  the  Bible  Society."  "  Oh  ! 
no,"  replied  a  Lutheran,  "I  intend  to  buy  it  for  a  priest,  for  as 
he  forbids  his  people  to  read  the  open  bible,  this  being  shut,  will 
suit  him  exactly."  The  papist  wilted. — Lutherun  Intelligencer, 
vol.  Ill,  70. 

APOSTOLIC    SIMPLICITY    TRIED    IN    OUR    DEGENERATE    TIMES. 

A  brother  in  the  West  once  told  his  people,  that  raising  salaries 
by  subscription  was  altogether  wrong,  and  contrary  to  the  Apos- 
tolic usages.  He  said  that  he  blamed  the  ministers  for  it,  to  some 
extent  at  least.  He  further  said  that  if  ministers  would  trust 
the  people,  the  simplicity  of  Apostolic  times  could  be  restored. 
He  then  proposed  that  he  would  preach  for  them  a  year,  and  at 
the  end  the}^  should  pay  him  just  what  each  one  thought  their 
preacher's  services  had  been  worth.  The  congregation  was  dis- 
missed, and  no  more  said  of  salary  for  the  year.  Upon  the  last 
Sunday  in  the  year,  he  reminded  the  people  of  his  proposition, 
and  confidence  in  them,  and  said,  "  Now  let  each  one  come  for- 
ward and  place  upon  the  altar  table  whatever  he  thinks  I  ought 
to  have  for  my  services  to  him,  and  I  will  be  content  with  the 
aggregate."  He  gave  out  a  hymn  and  sat  down  in  the  pulpit. 
One  old  lady  walked  up,  and  no  one  else.  The  congregation  was 
dismissed,  and  the  "  Apostolic "  preacher  came  down  from  the 
pulpit  and  found  twelve  and  one-half  cents  upon  the  table. — 
D.   H.   B. 

A    MINISTER   ANXIOUS    ABOUT    HIS    WIFE's    HEALTH. 

Rev.  N.  N.  married  for  his  second  wife,  a  most  amiable  and 
estimable  lady,  but  very  corpulent,  weighing  considerably  over 
two  hundred  pounds.  He  came  to  the  Synod  some  years  ago,  and 
on  his  way  overtook  Rev.  M.  M.  going  to  Synod  also.  M.  asked 
N.  in  regard  to  his  health,  and  that  of  his  family.  N.  answered 
as  follows,  "I  am  very  well,  but  my  wife,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  is 
not  so  well.  She  is  pining  away  and  losing  flesh  rapidly." 
"What  seems  to  be  the  matter?"  asked  M.  "Well,"  said  N., 
"  the  thing  is  this.     I  have  been  a  member  of  this  Synod  for  a 


572  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

score  of  years,  and  have  never  been  its  president.  My  wife  asked 
me  why  it  was  so,  and  as  I  could  not  give  her  a  satisfactory  reason, 
she  imagines  that  it  must  be  incompetency.  From  that  time  on 
her  health  has  been  declining.  Now  Brother  M.,  you  have  me 
proposed  and  elected  president  of  Synod,  and  I  think  my  wife's 
health  will  be  restored." — D.  H.  B. 

A    LEARNED    DISPUTANT. 

Rev.  G.  preached  in  a  community  of  Dunkards.  These  people 
annoyed  him  greatly  by  opposing  his  doctrines,  and  advocating 
their  own,  especially  in  regard  to  baptism.  One  day,  one  of  their 
preachers  sent  the  old  man  a  challenge  for  a  public  debate  upon 
the  subject.  G.  accepted  the  challenge,  and  appointed  a  day  for 
disputation.  (It  was  all  in  German,  but  I  will  give  you  a  full 
translation  in  the  vernacular.)  The  two  champions  met  to  measure 
theological  swords.  G.  commenced—"  Now,  my  friend,  I  propose 
that  we  investigate  this  subject,  exigetic-ally,  hermeneutically, 
philosophically  and  historically.  What  system  of  exegesis  would 
you  prefer?"  "Exegesis!"  said  his  antagonist,  "I  do  not  know 
what  that  is."  "  Well  then,"  said  G.,  "  let  us  try  it  hermeneuti- 
cally. Whose  hermeneutics  shall  we  use?"  "I  do  not  know 
what  hermeneutics  is,"  said  the  Dunkard.  "Then  let  us  try  it 
philosojDhically.  What  system  of  philosophy  would  you  prefer? 
Is  it  the  inductive  system  or  the  a  priori  system?"  "I  do  not 
understand  you,"  said  the  poor,  bewildered  man.  G.  turned  to 
the  audience  and  said,  "  You  see,  dear  hearers,  that  this  man 
knows  nothing  at  all !"  and,  taking  up  his  hat,  walked  out  of  the 
assembly.     He  was  never  troubled  afterwards. 

PENNSYLVANIA    DUTCH. 

Rev.  H.  J.  G.  preached  to  some  country  congregations.  In  one 
of  his  churches  there  were  several  Pennsylvania  families  who 
dogged  him  continually  to  preach  them  a  German  sermon.  He 
finally  consented,  and  preached  them  a  sermon  of  an  hour's 
length  in  the  broadest  Pennsylvania  dutch,  mixing  things  up  ter- 
ribly with  distorted  English  and  hideous  provincialisms.  His 
audience  looked  at  him  in  perfect  amazement.  At  the  conclusion, 
one  old  fellow  remarked  to  another,  "  's  war  gut,  aver  's  war  net 
schriftmasig." — D.  H.  B. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  573 

POWER    OF    ELOQUENCE. 

A  reverend  brother  was  preaching  one  Sunday  morning  in  his 
usual  vehement  style,  when  a  large  black  cat  came  in  at  the  front 
door,  took  one  look  over  the  assembled  congregation,  and  hastily 
ran  up  the  side  steps  on  the  gallery.  Finding  the  gallery  crowded, 
she  took  the  front  of  the  gallery,  and  ran,  very  much  frightened, 
to  the  pulpit  end  near  the  speaker.  There  she  halted  to  reconnoi- 
tre. Just  at  that  moment  the  preacher  uttered  an  emphatic  sen- 
tence in  a  stentorian  voice,  and  brought  his  fist  with  force  upon 
the  pulpit  board.  The  cat  wheeled  and  ran,  following  the  front 
of  the  gallery  until  she  came  directly  opposite  the  speaker,  just 
above  the  aisle  below.  At  this  moment  he  uttered  another  thun- 
dering sentence,  and  the  cat  dropped  down  dead  upon  the  lower 
floor.  A  hearer  told  Brother  B.  that  the  power  of  eloquence 
killed  the  cat. — Ibid. 

A    NEW    SUIT    UNSUITABLY    USED. 

When  ,  now  professor  at  ,  was  pastor  ^t  , 

he  was  very  poor,  and,  of  necessity,  shabbily  clad.  Esquire  L. 
had  a  store  in  the  place,  and  one  day  called  the  preacher  into 
his  store  and  presented  him  with  an  entire  suit  of  clothing,  good 
and  fine.  The  next  Sunday  he  appeared  in  his  new  suit  and 
preached.  It  was  a  good  fit,  and  very  becoming.  On  Monday 
morning  Esquire  L.  had  occasion  to  visit  the  minister  on  some  busi- 
ness. He  was  not  at  the  house,  but  his  wife  said  he  was  at  the  sta- 
ble, and  proposed  to  call  him.  The  Esquire  was  in  a  hurry  and 
said  he  would  go  to  the  stable  to  see  him.  He  went  to  the  stable 
and  found  him  in  his  new  suit  of  clothes  busily  engaged  in  cur- 
rying his  horse. — D.  H.  B. 

DR.    H.    E.    MUHLENBERG. 

He  had  lost  a  favorite  mare,  and  upon  the  occasion  of  her  death 
he  remarks,  "  The  old  cunning  beast  had  a  presentiment  of  the 
severe  winter  which  was  at  hand,  and  of  the  scarcity  of  provi- 
sions, and  left  me  when  I  had  expended  all  my  best  food  upon 
her.  In  her  way,  and  by  a  service  of  ten  years'  duration,  she  had 
been  a  very  faithful  friend  to  me."  At  the  close  of  these  remarks 
he  has  the  following  epitaph  upon  her :  "  Fida  et  sagax  equa, 
bene  farcia,,  ne  esuriret,  aliquanJo  debet  esse." 


574  FIFTY    YEAKS    IN    THE    LTTTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

I  conclude  with  the  remark  that  his  good  nature  was  sometimes 
imposed  upon.  The  two  following  cases  were  communicated  to 
me  by  an  aged  clergyman  of  our  Church.  On  one  occasion,  a 
strolling  beggar  had  succeeded  in  obtaining  some  money  in  the 
way  of  alms  from  him,  and,  after  spending  it  for  drink  at  a  neigh- 
boring tavern,  returned  to  the  parsonage,  and  there,  in  front  of 
the  door,  cried  out  in  a  loud  voice,  whilst  he  was  whirling  his  hat 
round  his  head,  "  Hurrah,  Dr.  Muhlenberg  gave  me  money  to 
become  intoxicated."  At  another  time,  a  jjerson  of  the  same  de- 
scription came  into  his  study,  and,  when  refused  alms,  pretended 
to  fall  down  upon  the  floor  in  a  fit.  The  Doctor,  hereupon,  sus- 
pecting the  state  of  the  case,  immediately  said  to  a  friend,  my 
informant,  "  I  will  try  what  virtue  there  is  in  iron,"  and,  began 
to  heat  the  poker  in  the  stove.  For  a  short  time  the  man  remain- 
ed perfectly  motionless,  but  when,  after  an  interval,  he  heard  the 
Doctor  going  to  the  stove  and  saying  to  his  friend,  "  I  will  apply 
this  heated  iron  to  the  tip  of  his  ear,"  he  sprung  up  from  the  floor 
in  indescribable  haste,  flew  out  of  the  door,  and  nothing  more 
was  seen  of  him. 

TOO   SHORT   BY   A   FOOT. 

During  the  time  that  Dr.  H.  was  pastor  at  F.,  Dr.  B.,  then 
preaching  at  M.,  Va.,  paid  him  a  friendly  visit.  The  prevailing 
fashion  of  coats  was  the  long-tailed,  and  very  long-waisted  style. 
Dr.  H.  towers  up  to  six  feet  two,  whilst  Dr.  B.  reaches  five  feet 
eight.  The  time  was  Saturday  evening,  and  Dr.  H.  invited  his 
guest  to  preach  for  him  next  morning.  The  arrangements  were 
all  completed,  and  Dr.  H.  went  over  to  visit  his  Sunday  school, 
leaving  Dr.  B.  in  the  parlor  reading  over  his  sermon.  The  hour 
for  preaching  was  at  hand,  and  Dr.  H.  hastily  entered  the  room, 
stating  that  the  hour  for  service  had  arrived.  Dr.  B.  said  he  was 
ready.  But  Dr.  H.  observing  that  he  had  on  a  checked  linen 
coat,  told  him  to  change  for  a  cloth  coat.  Dr.  B.  had  no  such 
article  with  him.  Dr.  H.  ran  to  his  wardrobe,  and,  hastily  snatch- 
ing up  a  cloth  coat  of  his  own,  said,  "  here  put  this  on  and  come 
after  me.  The  bell  has  ceased  ringing,  and  the  people  will  be 
impatient,"  and  left  for  the  church.  The  audience  were  all 
waiting,  and  Dr.  B.  appeared,  with  his  sleeves  turned  up  about 
six  inches,  being  just  so  much  too  long  for  him,  and  the  very 
long-waisted  coat,  with  the  exceedingly  long-tail,  about  two  inches 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  575 

from  the  floor.  It  was  with  difficulty  the  audience  could  pay 
proper  respect  to  the  sanctuary  and  services.  After  service  Dr. 
H.  said,  "Well,  you  made  yourself  ridiculous  to-day."  "Next 
time  let  me  preach  in  my  own  coat,"  was  the  only  reply. — D.  H.  B. 

SINGULAR    VISITATION    OF    PROVIDENCE. 

Rev.  L.  G.,  when  pastor  of  congregations  in  ,  held  a  pro- 
tracted meeting.  In  this  meeting  he  was  disturbed  every  even- 
ing by  a  wicked  young  man  who  lived  in  the  vicinity,  and  attended 
a  saw-mill,  after  talking  both  publicly  and  privately  with  this 
young  man,  to  no  effect,  prayed  one  evening  that  if  there  was  any 
one  in  the  assembly  whose  doom  was  fised  in  the  councils  of 
heaven,  and  who  might  be  in  the  way  of  others'  salvation,  the 
Lord  would  suddenly  remove  such  a  one  out  of  the  way.  The 
next  day  he  had  occasion  to  visit  the  place  where  the  young  man 
was  employed.  He  went  to  the  saw-mill,  and  as  he  approached 
the  young  man  said,  "Mr.  G.,  you  tried  to  pray  me  to  hell  last 
night,  but  you  see  I  am  not  there  yet."  Before  Mr.  G.  could 
make  any  reply,  the  young  man's  foot  slipped,  and  he  fell  with 
his  neck  just  before  the  circular  saw,  in  full  motion.  In  an  in- 
stant his  head  w^as  severed  from  his  body  and  rolled  upon  the 
floor  of  the  saw-mill. — D.  H.  B. 

PERSECUTION. 

Occasionally,  a  minister  has  been  subjected  to  severe  trials  by 
even  professed  christians.  The  following  is  taken  from  the  Ob- 
server of  1842 : 

"  Einefeste  Burg  ist  unser  Gott." — Our  esteemed  and  excellent 
friend  and  brother,  Shindel,  of  Sunbury,  has  been  tried — aw- 
fully tried  in  the  "  fiery  furnace,"  and  has  come  forth  unscathed 
and  triumphant.  He  is  one  of  our  most  faithful  and  devoted 
men,  and  has  been  laboring  with  great  success  in  the  Lutheran 
ministry  for  upwards  of  thirty  years.  During  the  last  few  years 
his  zealous  labors  have  been  attended  by  some  of  the  most  exten- 
sive and  powerful  revivals  that  have  taken  place  in  our  churches. 
In  the  midst  of  these  distinguished  sanctions  of  divine  grace,  it 
pleased  the  Lord,  no  doubt  for  wise  and  good  purposes,  to  permit 
one  of  the  severest  trials  to  befall  him.  Had  the  devil  and  his 
instruments  succeeded  in  their  malignant  schemes,  the  fair  char- 
acter of  this  man  of  God  would  have  been  blasted,  and  hia  future 


576  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

usefulness  destroyed.  He  never  could  have  recovered  from  such  a 
master-stroke  of  diabolical  malevolence.  But  the  Lord  watched 
over  him,  and  vouchsafed  to  him  a  mighty  and  glorious  deliver- 
ance from  the  machinations  of  his  enemies.  Bless  the  Lord  for 
his  great  mercy.  We  congratulate  Brother  Shindel ;  and  while 
his  faith  and  confidence  in  God's  providence  cannot  but  be  greatly 
strengthened,  we  pray  that  his  wily  but  discomfited  foes  may  be 
deeply  humbled  and  brought  to  speedy  and  thorough  repentance. 
He  can  truly  exclaim  with  the  much  persecuted,  but  at  last  tri- 
umphant Luther :  "  Eine  feste  Burg  ist  unser  Gott  " — a  strong- 
hold is  our  God.  0  praise  ye  the  Lord,  for  he  is  good,  and  ^  his 
mercy  endureth  forever. 

A   CONSPIRACY   CllUSHED. 
From  the  Harrisburg  Democratic  Union. 

The  Dauphin  county  court  is  at  present  in  session  in  our  borough. 
Among  the  business  despatched  on  Monday,  was  a  case  of  exceed- 
ingly delicate  nature,  involving  the  standing  of  an  eminent  Lu- 
theran pastor — the  Rev.  Peter  Shindel,  of  Sunbury.  This  most 
estimable  man  has  had  charge,  also,  of  a  congregation  at  Gratz- 
town,  in  this  county,  for  a  period  of  nearly  thirty  years,  during 
all  which  time  he  has  maintained  a  reputation  as  fair  and  unblem- 
ished as  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  any  man.  Several  months  since, 
however,  some  two  or  three  miscreants  in  the  neighborhood  be- 
came dissatisfied  with  the  "revival  measures"  introduced  by  Mr. 
Shindel  into  the  Gratztown  congregation,  and,  to  gratify  their 
vindictiveness,  commenced  a  series  of  persecutions  against  him  of 
the  most  fiendlike  malignity.  Among  other  means  resorted  to  by 
the  wretches,  was  an  attempt  to  fix  upon  Mr.  Shindel  the  commis- 
sion of  a  criminal  offence,  which  was  dated  back  some  twelve  or 
fourteen  years,  but  which  they  professed  to  have  kept  in  profound 
silence  until  now  !  We  are  gratified  to  state,  however,  for  the  in- 
formation of  Mr.  Shindel's  extensive  circle  of  friends,  that  the 
Grand  Jury  on  Monday  last,  by  a  unanimous  vote,  ignored  the  bill 
containing  the  allegations  against  him,  and  directed  the  prosecu- 
tors to  pay  the  costs  !  We  are  gratified  at  this  result,  as  the  whole 
aflfair  was  plainly  a  conspiracy  of  the  most  atrocious  kind,  to  blast 
the  reputation  of  a  man  universally  beloved.  Perhaps  no  man 
in  the  same  section  of  country  has  such  a  host  of  true  and  be- 
loved admirers  as  Mr.  Shindel,  and  certainly  none  deserves  them 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  577 

better.  As  a  christian  and  philanthropist,  Mr.  Shindel  may  serve 
as  an  examplar  to  the  worki,  and  we  are  rejoiced  that  this  attempt 
to  assail  him  in  that  which  is  dearer  than  life — his  good  name — 
has  met  such  a  signal  rebuke  at  the  hands  of  the  constituted  au- 
thorities. 

B^°  Since  the  above  xoas  written,  we  learn  that  the  prosecutors 
have  viade  a  public  recantation  of  all  their  charges  against  Mr. 
Shindel,  which  makes  his  triumph  still  inore  conclusive. 

HIND    PART    FOREMOST. 

There  was  once  a  fashion  of  making  shirts  closed  on  the  bosom 
and  open  on  the  back  of  the  neck,  to  be  fastened  by  a  button 
behind.  The  wife  of  Rev.  F.  S.,  made  her  husband  a  set  of  shirts 
in  the  new  style.  On  the  following  Sunday  she  handed  him  one, 
and  he  put  it  on  and  proceeded  to  church  to  hold  service.  His 
wife  was  not  with  him.  After  preaching  he  came  home,  and 
complained  that  his  shirt  was  a  bad  fit,  and  rather  luicomfortable. 
His  wife  looked  up,  and  to  her  surprise  and  mortification,  found 
that  he  had  put  on  his  shirt  with  the  bosom  on  his  back,  and  the 
collar,  being  fastened  to  the  shirt,  and  pointed,  stuck  out  behind 
his  head  in  a  very  laughable  manner. — D.  h.  b. 

THE    DISCOMFITTED    GATE    KEEPER. 

Rev.  J.  I.  M.,  whilst  a  student  at  college,  was  often  invited 
by  the  neighboring  ministers  to  preach.  Upon  one  occasion, 
after  filling  an  appointment,  he  started  on  horseback,  for  the 
college,  and  the  minister  told  him  that  he  need  not  pay  toll  at 
the  next  gate,  if  he  stated  the  fact  that  he  had  preached  for  him 
the  day  previous.  The  student  started,  and  soon  arriving  at  the 
gate,  the  toll-gatherer  came  out  and  demanded  toll.  He  stated 
that  he  had  preached  for  B.  yesterday.  The  man  demanded  his 
credentials,  saying,  at  the  same  time,  that  about  half  of  the  people 
that  passed  the  road  were  preachers,  if  their  word  was  to  be  taken. 
He  then  came  forth,  and,  taking  the  rein  of  the  bridle,  detained 
M.  in  the  road.  The  man  had  no  hat  on,  and  a  hot  July  sun  was 
beating  upon  his  bare  head.  M.  drew  from  his  pocket  a  copy  of 
"  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  and  commenced  reading.  He  read  one 
page,  and  was  proceeding  with  the  second,  when  the  man  hissed 
through  his  clenched  teeth — "  Whether  you  are  a  minister  of  the 


578  FIFTY   YEAES   IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY. 

gospel  or  not,  I  don't  know.  One  thing  I  do  know,  that  you  are 
a  blasted  fool !"  And  with  that  he  gave  M's  horse  a  kick  in  the 
ribs,  and  sent  him  on  without  toll. 

MARRYING    MINORS. 

A  few  years  ago  the  law  in  Maryland  imposed  a  heavy  fine 
upon  ministers  who  united  minors  in  matrimony  without  their 
parents'  consent.  The  law  is  somewhat  modified  at  present,  and 
the  court  which  issues  the  license  assumes  the  responsibility  to 
some  extent.  Some  poor  ministers  have  been  severely  fined,  by 
being  deceived  by  the  false  representations  of  the  parties,  but  in 
most  cases,  I  believe,  the  governor  has  remitted  the  penalty. 

I  was  once  caught  in  a  similar  scrape,  but  I  escaped  by  the 
exercise  of  a  little  audacity.  One  night  a  tall,  stalwart  country- 
man, accompanied  by  a  genteel  young  woman,  came  to  be  married 
without  any  previous  announcement.  He  was  fortified  with  a 
regular  license,  and  everything  else  seemed  right.  I  did  not  ask 
him  his  age,  for  his  appearance  indicated  at  least  twenty-five. 
There  was  no  question  either  as  regarded  the  lady.  They  were 
married,  and  the  fellow  gave  me  a  dollar  as  a  fee. 

In  a  few  days,  an  ill-dressed,  rough,  unshaved  countryman 
came  and  asked  me  whether  I  had  married  such  and  such  a  man. 
I  was  green  enough  at  that  time  promptly  to  answer,'  yes,  not 
suspecting  his  design.  I  should  have  declined  answering  and 
thrown  the  proof  ujDon  him,  but  I  was  a  young  man,  and  not 
yet  up  to  the  ways  of  the  world.  He  said  the  young  man  was  his 
son,  and  a  minor,  and.  that  he  had  determined  to  prosecute  me. 
I  felt  myself  in  an  ugly  position,  for  it  was  plain  he  had  the  ad- 
vantage of  me.  He  stated  that  he  would  demand  heavy  damages, 
for  his  son's  services  were  worth  some  hundreds  of  dollars  a  year, 
and  he  was  resolved  to  get  that  out  of  me  for  two  years  at  least. 
I  at  first  mildly  reasoned  the  matter  with  him,  but  he  would, 
listen  to  no  argument  or  expostulation.  I  then  changed  my 
course  and  put  on  a  very  severe  air.  I  told  him  I  would  employ 
the  first  lawyers  in  the  city,  for  they  were  my  personal  acquaint- 
ances ;  that  I  could  aflford  to  pay  men  of  that  standing  and  he 
could  not ;  that  I  would  compel  him  and  his  son  to  leave  their 
work  for  weeks  together,  in  attendance  upon  court ;  that  I  would 
appeal  the  case  to  Annapolis,  if  it  went  against  me  in  the  lower 
court ;  that  I  knew  the  Governor  would  remit  the  fine  which  the 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  579 

State  had  imposed ;  that  the  damages,  if  any  at  all,  would  not  he 
enough  to  pay  his  expenses ;  that  I  would  do  many  more  things 
damaging  to  his  character,  and  his  slender  purse.  I  observed 
that  the  old  chap  was  shrinking  all  the  way  through,  and  by  the 
time  I  was  done,  he  had  completely  wilted.  After  catching  his 
breath  with  an  effort,  he  meekly  said,  "Well,  what  fee  did  my 
son  give  you  for  marrying  him?"  "  Sir,"  said  I,  in  an  imperious 
tone,  "  that's  none  of  your  business ;  I  allow  no  man  to  enquire 
impertinently  into  my  private  affairs  !"  He  began  to  apologize  in 
humble  strains,  and  said  he  had  a  particular  reason  for  asking 
chat  question.  I  then  relaxed  a  little  myself,  and  said,  "Well, 
Sir,  he  gave  me  a  dollar."  "Now,  parson"  he  rejoined,  "if  you 
give  me  that  dollar,  I'll  say  no  more  about  the  whole  matter,  for  he 
stole  that  money  Jromtne!'  Glad  to  getrid  of  him  on  these  terms,  I 
gave  him  the  dollar,  which  I  could  not  keep  after  he  said  that,  true 
or  false.  As  he  was  going  out,  I  called  to  him,  "  Hold  on,  here 
I'll  give  you  fifty  cents  in  addition,  to  buy  your  old  woman  a  new 
night  cap,  for  judging  from  your  appearance,  I  dare  say  she  needs 
it."     Taking  it,  he  bolted. 

JUDGED. 

Some  years  ago  the  Albright  Sect  was  anxious  to  form  a  con- 
gregation in  a  section  of  Pennsylvania,  inhabited  by  none  but 
Lutherans  and  Reformed,  who  had  a  church  and  regular  services 
of  their  own.  These  sectarians  used  the  unscrupulous  means 
peculiar  to  these  people,  of  going  from  house  to  house,  and  moving 
earth  and  heaven,  to  make  one  proselyte.  About  that  time  a 
number  of  thunder-storms  visited  that  region,  and  several  barns 
owned  by  Lutherans  were  struck  by  lightning.  This  was  taken 
advantage  of  by  the  unprincipled  proselyter,  who  declared  it  to 
be  a  manifestation  of  the  wrath  of  God  against  the  Lutherans, 
and  a  reason  for  leaving  the  Lutheran  Church  and  joining  his 
sect.  He  succeeded  in  frightening  a  few  weak-minded  people 
into  his  party,  where  he  promised  them  security  against  divine 
thunderbolts.  It  was  then  proposed  to  build  a  frame  meeting- 
house of  their  own,  directly  opposite  the  Lutheran  parsonage. 
This  was  done,  and  a  steeple  was  raised  to  some  height.  Scarcely 
was  the  edifice  completed,  when  a  flash  of  lightning  split  it  from 
top  to  bottom.  The  effect  can  be  imagined.  The  meeting-house 
has  been  called.  Die  Blitz  Kirche  (The  Lightning  Church)  ever 
since.  But  whether  the  preacher  thought  of  "  Out  of  thine 
mouth  will  I  judge  thee  "  (Luke  19  :  22),  is  not  known. 


580  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

BOLD    AND    NOBLE    DARING    OF    A    LUTHERAN    MINISTER    IN    THE 
MIDST    OF    GREAT    DANGER. 

I  was  well  acquainted  Avith  the  Rev.  H.,  a  young  man  of  fine 
talents  and  attainments.  He  had  studied  theology,  I  think,  at 
Gottingen,  and  came  to  this  country  as  a  "  candidate,"  i.  e.,  as  a 
young  licensed  preacher  who  had  never  had  a  charge  in  Germany. 
He  was  received  into  one  of  our  Synods,  and  was  sent  into  the 
mountain-regions  of  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  elected  pastor 
of  a  Lutheran  congregation.  He  was  active  and  efficient  as  a 
pastor,  and  was  much  respected  by  the  community.  He  had  a 
wife  and  two  children  at  the  time  the  scene  I  am  about  to  relate 
occurred.  He  lived  in  T. — a  considerable  stream  flowed  through 
this  town  ;  one  night  there  fell  an  extraordinary  rain,  some  said 
it  was  a  water-spout,  and  in  the  morning  the  waters  rose  to  a 
fearful  and  unprecedented  height — greater  part  of  the  town  was 
overflowed — houses  were  swept  away,  and  many  persons  were 
drowned — it  was  a  terrible  scene.  Whilst  a  large  number  of  citi- 
zens were  standing  upon  the  banks,  watching  the  progress  of  events, 
a  building  was  seen  coming  down  the  stream,  and  a  voice  of  a 
woman  was  heard  shrieking  even  above  the  roaring  of  the  angry 
waters ;  this  woman,  with  her  babe  in  her  arms,  had  got  on  the 
upper  side  of  the  house  that  was  floating  down  the  stream,  and 
was  calling  for  help  !  Her  case  excited  great  consternation  and 
sympathy,  but  there  was  no  one  bold  and  daring  enough  to  go  to  her 
assistance.  No  rope  or  boatcould  reach  her,  and  a  short  distance  be- 
low there  was  a  high  mill-dam  where  she  would  be  sure  to  meet 
her  end.  If  rescued,  at  all,  it  must  be  there.  It  was  a  fearful 
moment — just  then  the  Rev.  Mr.  H.  came  to  the  spot  on  horse- 
back, he  rode  a  noble  animal,  and  had  great  confidence  in  his 
strength  and  docility.  He  soon  comprehended  the  state  of  affairs, 
his  generous  impulses  prompted  him  at  once  to  attempt  the  rescue 
of  the  unfortunate  woman.  "  I  will  rescue  that  woman  or  perish 
in  the  attempt."  All  remonstrated  and  said  it  was  madness  to 
make  an  attempt ;  but  he  plunged  into  the  foaming  stream,  and 
bravely  did  his  noble  horse  deport  himself;  he  reached  the  side  of 
the  house,  and  told  the  woman  to  cast  herself  and  her  child  into  the 
water,  and  he  caught  them  and  placed  them  on  his  noble  animal ! 
The  excitement  on  the  shore  was  intense ;  no  one  spoke  a  word 
until  the  woman  seemed  to  be  safe  on  the  horse ;  then  there  went 
up  a  shout  from  the  multitude  that  seemed  to  drown  the  roaring 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  581 

of  the  waters  !  There  were  now  hopes  that  they  would  be  saved, 
but  alas!  those  hopes  were  soon  blasted;  the  load  was  too  great 
for  the  noble  animal,  and  the  current  too  strong;  bravely  did  the 
horse  struggle,  but  all  in  vain  ;  he  sank,  and  with  him  his  precious 
freight  I  They  all  perished,  and  that  was  the  last  of  Brother  H. — 
R.  w. 

A    SLIGHT    MISTAKE    IN    INTERPRETATION, 

During  my  studies,  preparatory  to  the  ministry,  I  spent  some 
months  with  a  private  instructor  in  Shenandoah  county,  Va.  There 
lived  in  that  region  an  aged,  patriarchal  Menonite  preacher,  who 
was  a  living  example  of  every  christian  virtue.  He  was  a  leading 
minister  among  that  singular  people,  and  their  most  popular  and 
useful  preacher.  I  used  to  go  to  hear  him  when  our  own  pastor 
was  absent,  if  he  had  an  appointment  in  the  neighborhood.  He 
was  a  good  old  man,  and  an  artist  would  have  chosen  him  as  a 
model  for  "  Paul  the  aged."  He  occasionally  preached  English, 
but  he  had  never  looked  into  Murray's  Grammar  or  any  other 
book  that  would  have  taught  him  the  proprieties  of  our  language. 
He  had  never  studied  music,  and  as  he  ofHciated  as  chorister  as 
well  as  preacher,  he  usually  sung  a  common  metre  tune  to  a  long 
metre  hymn^  and  would  stumble  all  through  without  ever  being 
sensible  of  any  disharmony.  In  all  his  English  harangues,  he 
would  introduce  the  parable  of  Nathan  (2.  Sam.  XII),  and,  when 
Nathan  speaks  of  the  eive  lamb,  the  good  old  man  would  pro- 
nounce it  e-we,  and  really  thought  it  was  the  vulgar  diminutive, 
which  I  believe  is  of  Scotch  origin,  though  common  among  many 
other  common  people.  He  would  lean  down,  and  lifting  his  hand 
three  or  four  inches  from  the  ground,  he  would  say,  "  It  was  a  lit- 
tle e-we  bit  of  a  lamb,  joost  so  big  !  " 

A    COMPLIMENT. 

One  day  a  simple-minded  parishioner,  who  had  never  seen  a 
library,  stepped  into  my  study,  and,  after  a  cursory  glance  at  my 
collection  of  books,  which  was  not  very  large,  but  siill  respectable 
for  a  poor  man,  stared  all  around  and  thought  he  owed  me  a  com- 
pliment, and  would  now  pay  it.  He  gravely  turned  to  me,  and  in 
perfect  sincerity,  observed,  "  Well,  I  guess  it  will  take  you  about 
a  month  to  read  all  them  books  through." 
37 


582  FIFTY    YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

When  I  was  a  young  man,  and  just  fresli  from  the  seminary,  I 
was  staying  a  day  or  two  with  a  worthy  old  farmer,  and  I  thought 
it  would  gratify  him  by  saying,  "That  his  growing  wheat  looked 
very  promising."  He  cooly  replied,  "Wheat!  wheat — that's  not 
wheat;  it's  rye — is  that  all  you  learned  at  the  seminary?"  I 
took  the  rebuke,  only  quietly  muttering,  "  That  we  were  not  taught 
farming  at  that  school,"  and  inwardly  resolving,  "Old  Gent,  I'll 
pay  you  for  that  before  I  leave  you."  Some  hours  after  I  took  my 
Greek  Testament  from  my  pocket  and  went  to  him,  saying,  "Mr, 
S.,  here  is  a  passage  in  1.  Cor.  which  is  not  clear  to  me,  I  wish  you 
would  translate  it  for  me."  "  What  do  I  know  about  Greek  ;  we 
do  not  learn  them  things  on  a  farm."  "  Neither  do  we  at  the 
seminary  learn  to  know  the  difference  between  growing  crops !" 
He  at  once  perceived  what  I  was  about,  laughed  heartily,  and  said 
he  had  been  fairly  caught. 

THE    SHABBY    TREATMENT    OF    MINISTERS    BY    THE    PENURIOUS 
AND    MISERLY. 

In  the  early  part  of  my  ministry  I  was  rather  more  guileless 
and  simple-hearted  than  now.  Would  to  God  the  wicked  world 
would  have  permitted  me  to  remain  in  that  state  of  happy  inno- 
cence !  But,  no!  I  was  compelled  to  arm  myself  at  all  points, 
and  to  deal  with  men  as  though  they  were  not  all  honest.  Thus,  I 
was  simple  enough  to  make  no  contract  with  my  first  charge. 
Three  large  congregations  solemnly  promised  to  give  me  a  living. 
At  the  end  of  the  year  I  came  out  minus  about  one  hundred 
dollars.  And  I  certainly  labored  hard  and  energetically,  if  not 
wisely.  After  that  I  took  the  precaution  to  bind  up  the  charge  to 
give  me  a  specific  amount ;  sometimes  I  got  it,  and  sometimes  I  did 
not.  After  I  had  been  in  the  gospel  harness  twenty-eight  years, 
I  sat  down  and  looked  over  my  accounts  (for  I  have  them  all  re- 
corded) ;  I  found  that  I  had  lost  just  about  one  hundred  dollars  a 
year ;  this  made  twenty-eight  hundred  dollars  that  the  congregation 
had  chiseled  me  out  of !  But  this  was  not  all,  as  the  following  inci- 
dent will  show  :  I  once  engaged  a  load  of  hay  from  an  elder  for 
ten  dollars ;  the  season  was  very  wet,  and  much  hay  was  spoiled, 
and  as  nobody  would  purchase  wet  and  spoiled  hay,  and  as  the 
prudent  eld«r  did  not  want  to  put  it  on  his  own  mow,  he  brought 
it  to  his  pastor,  and  in  his  absence  put  it  on  his  mow.  It  was  ut- 
terly useless,  and  we  had  to  pay  a  man  for  throwing  it  out  in  the 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  583 

munure-yard.  When  I  came  to  settle  for  it,  liaving  stated  my 
case  fjiirly,  and  showing  clearly  that  it  was  utterly  worthless,  the 
old,  rich  miser  seemed  to  have  been  touched  with  a  streak  of  gen- 
erosity, and  said  in  a  kind  of  compassionate  and  charitable  tone, 
"  Well,  as  it  is  you,  I  will  not  charge  you  the  full  price  of  ten  dol- 
lars ;  I  will  only  charge  you  nine  dollars  and  fifty  cents."  I  ])aid 
it,  and,  thinks  I  to  myself,  that  man  has  a  soul  that  would  not 
fill  the  inside  of  a  flea !  This  elder  was  rich,  I  was  poor. 
Another  time  I  had  a  grist  of  a  few  bushels  of  wheat  at  the  mill; 
I  requested  the  miller  to  send  it  to  my  house ;  a  rich  farmer,  a 
member  of  the  church,  was  at  the  mill,  and  came  home  with  an 
empty  wagon  right  past  my  house.  The  miller  requested  him  to 
take  a  small  grist  for  the  pastor ;  he  did  so.  Out  of  politeness  I 
asked  him  what  he  charged.  "  Oh,"  says  he,  "  about  a  dollar."  I 
paid  him  the  dollar,  and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  my  preach- 
ing could  not  do  any  man  much  good  who  had  so  little  a  souL 
On  another  occasion  I  bought  two  small  pigs  from  a  member  of 
the  church  ;  he  promised  either  to  bring  them  in  himself,  or  send 
them.  So  one  day,  another  member  going  past  his  house  with  an 
empty  wagon,  and  going  right  past  my  house,  was  requested  to 
bring  them.  He  did  so,  and  charged  fifty  cents  for  the  job.  W  hat 
made  this  case  worse  was,  that  a  few  days  before,  at  his  own  re- 
quest, I  had  visited  his  sick  father  and  administered  the  Holy 
Sacramentito  him,  and  thus  spent  half  a  day  in  his  service.  One 
of  my  deacons,  who  was  a  merchant,  once  treated  me  in  the  fol- 
lowing shabby  manner:  I  owed  him  a  bill  of  seventy  dollars; 
when  I  left  the  charge  he  had  on  his  subscription  list  seventy-five 
dollars.  I  made  a  settlement  with  him,  and  he  agreed  to  collect 
the  amount  of  his  bill  from  the  back-standing  subscriptions.  Some 
two  years  afterwards  I  had  to  jjay  him  the  seventy  dollars  with 
interest.  He  never  accounted  to  me  for  a  dollar  of  the  subscription  ! 
My  successor,  in  the  same  charge,  had  to  sell  his  only  horse  at  the 
end  of  his  second  year  to  pay  a  bill  he  owed  the  same  man. 

One  of  the  hardest  cases  was  that  of  Rev.  G.  B.,  one  of  the  most 
pious  and  simple-hearted  men  I  ever  knew ;  he  was  about  sixty 
years  of  age,  and  had  no  family  ;  and  as  he  had  entered  the  min- 
istry at  an  advanced  age,  and  as  he  was  more  concerned  about 
the  next  than  the  present  world,  he  had  laid  up  nothing  for 
a  rainy  day.  It  happened  that  he  took  sick,  and  was  not  able  to 
preach  for  some  three  months ;  so  his  church  council  had  a  meet- 


584     ,  FIFTY    YEAES    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY, 

ing,  in  which  it  was  resolved  that  if  their  pastor  did  not  very 
soon  recover,  they  would  take  him  to  the  poor-house!  A  good, 
pious,  Lutheran  Samaritan,  of  another  congregation,  having  heard 
of  the  unchristian  determination  of  that  wicked  church  council,  sent 
word  to  those  religious  Goths,  that  if  they  could  not  support  their 
old  pastor,  rather  than  disgrace  themselves  and  the  Lutheran 
church  they  should  bring  him  to  his  house,  and  he  would  take 
care  of  him.  But  the  poor  old  pastor  died  soon  after,  and  went 
to  that  place  "  Where  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling,  and  the 
weary  are  at  rest." 

In  Virginia  a  Lutheran  congregation  elected  a  man  for  a  dea- 
con who  had  been  a  gambler,  but  had  professed  to  be  reformed. 
So  one  day  he  was  out  collecting  money  for  the  pastor,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  collecting  over  one  hundred  dollars,  but,  on  his  way 
home  in  the  evening,  he  fell  in  with  some  of  his  old  cronies,  and 
he  gambled  away  the  pastor's  money  !  What  was  to  be  done  ;  the 
man  was  poor,  and  had  no  credit.  The  church  council  met,  and, 
out  of  compassion,  agreed  to  stand  half  the  loss.  The  pastor  had 
to  lose  the  rest. 

Rev.  Mr.  T.  told  me  that  one  of  his  members  once  paid  off  his 
subscription  by  bringing  him  rotten  wood  that  could  not  be  used. 

But  let  these  instances  of  fraud  and  penuriousness  suffice.  These 
are,  of  course,  exceptions,  and  we  hope  many  exceptions  to  the 
general  rule.  There  are  many  noble  and  generous  niembers  in 
our  churches  who  know  how  to  treat  their  pastors.  We  have  look- 
ed at  the  dark  side,  now  for  a  short  view  of  the  bright  side. 

There  was  Mr.  L.,  one  of  my  elders,  who  used  to  give  his  pastor 
fifty  dollars  a  year,  and  always  paid  it  at  once,  as  he  said,  so  it 
would  do  some  good.  He  also  used  to  send  his  pastor  twenty  bushels 
of  apples,  and  as  many  potatoes,  and  as  much  W'Ood  as  he  needed, 
for  nothing.  There  was  Mr.  A.,  who  also  paid  fifty  dollars,  and 
made  the  pastor  a  present  of  about  fifty  more.  There  was  Mr.  F., 
who  made  his  pastor  a  j)resent  of  a  horse,  besides  giving  a  large 
subscription.  There  was  Mr.  N.,  a  well-to-do  farmer,  said  to  his 
pastor,  "  I  don't  want  you  to  purchase  any  feed  for  your  horse,  I 
have  made  up  my  mind  to  supply  you  with  that."  There  was  the 
wealthy  Mrs.  C,  who  (as  her  pastor  informed  me)  made  it  a  rule 
every  time  her  pastor  visited  her  to  slip  a  fifty  dollar  note  into 
his  hand  on  parting.  There  was  old  Mr.  S.,  a  man  of  great 
wealth,  but  with  a  rough  outside,  built  a  house  at  an  expense  of 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  585 

four  thousand  dollars,  and  told  the  pastor  to  move  in.  This  same 
man  also  built  a  church  at  his  own  expense,  and  deeded  it  to  the 
Lutheran  congregation.  Thus  we  might  name  hundreds  of  green 
spots,  as  offsets  to  the  miserly  tricks  of  the  few  penurious  mem- 
bers in  our  churches. — R.  \v. 

REV.    MR.    STORK,    SR. 

This  pious  old  gentleman  was  once  visited  by  a  neighboring 
minister,  who  found  him  sick  in  bed,  and  much  depressed  on  ac- 
count of  the  languishing  state  of  the  church. 

He  asked  his  visitor,  "  What  news  ? — not  political,  nor  literary, 
nor  any  neighborhood  gossip  ;  but  can  you  tell  me  something  good 
about  the  church,  for  I  am  sick  at  heart  on  account  of  Zion,  and 
have  been  in  bed  a  week !" 

The  visitor  began  to  relate  several  encouraging  events,  which 
so  animated  the  old  gentleman  that  he  exclaimed  to  his  son 
(afterwards  a  D.  D.),  "  Gottlieb,  Gottlieb !  bi-ing  me  my  clothes 
and  shoes.  I  am  well  now  and  will  get  up.  Brother  H's  good 
news  has  cured  me." — c.  s. 


I  was  present  once  at  a  Synodical  supper.  The  good  lady  of 
the  house  had  a  table  spread  wdth  all  that  was  good  and  nice. 
She  insisted  upon  our  eating  long  after  we  had  all  done  our  very 
best  in  that  line,  and,  although  enormous  quantities  of  her  abun- 
dant provision  had  been  consumed,  and  the  proportions  of  many 
a  dainty  had  been  spoiled,  she  still  besought  us  to  continue,  con- 
cluding with  the  remark,  "La!  rae!  you  have  all  been  so  moder- 
ate, and  so  much  is  still  left,  that  one  can't  see  what  you  have 
eat."  Dr.  B.  Kurtz,  who  was  one  of  the  guests,  observed  in  an 
under  tone,  "  I  guess  she  would  not  fancy  now  seeing  what  we 
have  eat !" 

EARLY    COLLEGE   STRUGGLES. 

When  one  starts  for  college,  and  has  no  money,  and  does  not 
know  where  it  is  to  come  from,  it  makes  one  feel  queer.  It  is  now 
more  than  forty  years  since  I  started  on  such  an  expedition,  by 
the  advice  of  my  good  old  pastor.  1  was  a  young  man,  had  made 
a  profession  of  religion,  and  the  good  old  pastor  thought  I  was 
the  right  kind  of  young  man  to  be  educated  for  the  ministry. 
I  had  only  a  few  dollars,  not  enough  to  pay  the  stage  fare  (for 
there  were  no  railroads  in  those  days),  so  I  determined  to  take  it 


586  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

afoot ;  my  friend,  C.  A.  M.,  of  York,  who  had  been  my  Sabbath 
school  teacher,  went  with  me  to  the  end  of  the  town,  and,  although 
he  was  not  rich  then,  yet  he  slipped  a  handful  of  silver  into  my 
hand,  with  the  remark  that  I  might  need  it.  (God  has  since  blessed 
that  man  with  abundant  riches,  and  with  his  riches  his  benevo- 
lence has  kept  pace).  Well,  I  traveled  on  all  day,  and  near  night 
I  came  in  sight  of  the  town  of  Gettysburg.  I  was  glad  my  jour- 
ney was  at  an  end,  for,  after  walking  over  thirty  miles,  my  feet 
were  sore,  and  my  limbs  ached  with  pain.  I  stopped  at  a  hotel. 
Next  morning  I  called  to  see  the  Professor,  who  assigned  me  my 
place.  He  took  me  into  his  study,  where  he  sat  upon  a  curiously 
constructed  chair  with  a  writing  desk  all  around  it.  He  examined 
me  very  closely,  and  I  suppose  came  to  the  conclusion  that  I 
would  do.  While  there,  another  student  was  ushered  into  the 
room,  and  he  looked  like  a  very  learned  man  ;  he  was  dressed  in 
blaclc,  like  a  preacher;  had  on  a  white  neck-cloth,  wore  green 
glasses,  and  had  a  thin,  pale  face.  I  was  more  afraid  of  him  than 
of  the  Professor.  But  we  are  often  deceived  by  appearances.  I 
afterwards  found  that  this  very  learned-looking  man  had  a  very 
low  grade  of  intellect,  and  no  learning  at  all!  AVell,  I  set  in, 
after  having  passed  muster.  There  were  only  a  few  of  us;  I 
think  sixteen,  all  told,  with  a  few  town  boys.  The  old  gymnasium 
was  then  our  college,  taught  by  D.  J.,  one  of  the  best  teachers  I 
ever  knew.  I  spent  some  three  years  in  the  gymnasium,  and  en- 
tered the  seminary  when  the  college  classes  were  started.  I  should 
have  entered  the  college ;  it  was  one  of  the  greatest  errors  of  my 
life,  and  I  would  advise  no  young  man  to  commit  the  same  blun- 
der. It  is  true  I  have  tried  hard  to  make  up  the  great  loss  I  sus- 
tained in  not  passing  through  a  regular  college  coui'se,  but,  an 
active  pastor  as  I  have  been,  cannot  find  the  time  to  study  those 
branches  thoroughly  which  are  studied  in  a  college  course.  I 
might  just  as  well  have  taken  a  full  course.  Although  my  struggles 
to  raise  the  necessary  funds  were  great,  I  might  have  succeede.d  in 
remaining  another  year  or  so.  Sometimes  my  funds  were  very 
low,  and  I  had  no  idea  how  my  purse  was  to  be  replenished,  yet 
it  always  was  replenished.  I  was  often  driven  to  the  greatest 
straits  ;  this  would  drive  me  nearer  to  God  in  prayer.  God  always 
opened  a  way  to  have  my  wants  supplied.  My  friend,  C.  A.  M., 
and  his  e.x;3ellent  wife,  who,  like  Mary,  frequently  broke  the  ala- 
baster box  of  ointment,  never  forgot  me.      I  also  tried  to  earn 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  587 

money  by  my  own  efforts.  I  acted  as  agent  of  the  Bible  Society, 
and  of  the  American  Tract  Society — and  labored  with  my  own 
hands — and  by  God's  blessing  I  always  had  enough  to  pay  my 
way.  No  young  man  who  puts  his  trust  in  God  need  despair  of 
entering  the  ministry.  After  spending  five  years  at  G.,  I  left 
with  just  funds  enough  to  carry  me  to  the  charge  that  had  elected 
me  pastor  !  I  had  but  two  dollars  when  I  commenced  my  studies, 
and  when  I  was  done  I  had  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  left,  after 
having  spent  about  seven  hundred  dollars.  The  students  of  the 
present  extravagant  and  expensive  age  may  perhaps  wonder  how  I 
could  get  along  with  so  small  a  sum,  when  they  can  now  scarcely 
live  two  years  for  seven  hundred  dollars.  I  will  explain  the  mat- 
ter in  a  few  words.  I  psfid  only  two  dollars  a  week  board  while 
in  a  boarding  house,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  time,  like  many 
others,  I  lived  in  what  was  called  the  "  Brotherhood,"  where  our 
boarding  cost  only  one  dollar  per  week,  and  for  one  session  only 
ninety-four  cents !  One  young  man,  who  made  no  mean  figure  in 
our  church,  boarded  himself  a  whole  session  for  thirty  cents  a 
week.  He  ate  nothing  but  corn  bread  and  molasses,  and  he  told 
me  if  he  had  not  indulged  in  the  sumptuous  luxury  of  half  a 
pound  of  butter,  he  could  have  lived  on  eighteen  and  three-quar- 
ter cents  a  week  !  In  those  days  corn  -wbls  selling  at  forty  cents 
per  bushel,  and  molasses  at  twelve  and  a  half  cents  per  quart. 
Now  it  is  w'ell  known  in  all  the  slave  States  that  a  peck  of  corn 
is  considered  a  sufficient  quantity  for  a  laboring  slave  a  week,  and 
surely  a  student  ought  not  eat  more  than  a  laboring  man  !  In 
our  Brotherhood  we,  however,  carried  the  matter,  "  riotous  liv- 
ing," so  far  as  to  eat  meat  once  a  day,  and  butter  on  our  bread 
twice  a  week,  and  sometimes  cabbage  and  potatoes !  And  once, 
and  only  once,  we  ventured  upon  the  extravagant  luxury  of  a 
mess  of  sweet  potatoes !  We  drank  nothing  but  cold  water,  and 
I  have  no  doubt  we  left  the  institution  with  stronger  nerves  than 
those  who  indulged  in  coffee  and  tea.  And  this  is  the  history  of 
our  going  to  college  forty  years  ago. — w. 

A  DANCE  BROKEN  UP  BY  A  STUDENT  OF  THE  BROTHERHOOD. 

It  is  now  well  nigh  unto  forty  years  since  a  very  amusing  scene 
occurred  at  G.  Near  the  Brotherhood  lived  a  man  who  was  on 
friendly  terms  with  the  students.  We  often  visited  his  family,  and, 
even  occasionally,  held  prayer-meetings  in  his  house.     All  at  once. 


588  FIFTY    YEAES    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

however,  the  bad  spirit  seemed  to  get  into  the  man  of  the  house, 
and  he  would  have  no  fellowship  with  us — even  went  so  far  as  to 
speak  disrespectfully  of  us,  so  that  I,  as  the  head  of  the  establish- 
ment, was  obliged  to  remonstrate  with  him,  and  admonish  him, 
which  it  seems  he  did  not  take  in  good  part.  So  to  annoy  and 
insult  us  he  had  a  ball  appointed  at  his  house.  It  was  known  all 
over  town  that  on  such  a  night  there  was  to  be  a  ball  at  Mr.  H's., 
and  many  of  the,  wildest  young  men  in  town  were  invited,  and  as 
many  girls  as  they  could  induce  to  go.  This  dance  gave  us  a  good 
deal  of  trouble.  There  was  Mr,  B.,  one  of  Mr.  Finney's  converts, 
who  took  the  matter  very  hard,  and,  as  he  was  strong  in  faith  and 
prayer,  he  prayed  against  it,  but  it  went  on.  And  finally  the  time 
came — the  young  men  and  the  young  women  in  their  white  dresses 
came — the  house  was  full — the  fiddler  began  to  draw  his  bow — 
and  presently  the  dance  commenced,  and  they  seemed  to  have  a 
regular  break-down  !  Brother  B.  felt  bad  about  it,  and  came  to 
me  and  insisted  upon  it,  that  I,  as  the  "  Haus  Vater,"  should  put 
a  stop  to  it,  but  I  could  not  see  it.  "  Well,"  says  he,  "  if  you  don't 
do  something,  I  will."  "Well,  how  will  you  get  at  it."  "Why, 
I'll  go  in. and  turn  the  whole  thing  into  a  prayer-meeting."  I  re- 
'  monstrated,  but  found  he  was  determined  to  do,  what  I  considered, 
a  fool  hardy  thing.  And  knowing  that  there  were  wild,  des- 
perate and  half-drunken  young  men  there,  I  was  afraid  they 
might  abuse  Brother  B.  I  told  him  to  go,  and  I  would  back  him! 
I  called  on  Brother  V.,  a  man  of  gigantic  stature  and  a  brawny 
arm,  that  could  swing  a  club  like  old  Hercules,  and  upon  Brother 
H.,  a  small,  thick  set,  compact,  little  chap,  but  he  had  a  lion's  soul, 
and  told  them  to  stand  by  me ;  with  these  two  men  I  would  have 
invaded  the  gates  of  the  lower  regions.  AVell,  Brother  B.  went 
in  and  commenced  a  powerful  exhortation — the  fiddler  slunk  out 
as  fast  as  he  could — the  attack  was  so  sudden  and  so  unexpected, 
that  the  attacked  party  had  no  time  to  think.  Very  soon  Brother 
B.  had  the  whole  party  on  their  knees,  and  were  engaged  in 
prayer — the  girls  weeping ;  as  soon  as  he  was  done  praying,  I 
called  him  out,  for  I  knew  if  the  party  had  time  to  recover  their 
senses,  there  would  be  a  fray.  The  dance  was  broken  up,  and  we 
were  no  more  annoyed  in  that  quarter.  This  scene,  of  course,  made 
a  ten  days'  talk  in  G.  Prof.  J.  got  to  hear  it,  and  rather  held  me 
responsible  for  it.  I  explained  the  whole  matter  to  him,  and  he 
seemed  to  be  satisfied  with  it,  only  remarking  that  he  hoped 
Brother  B.  would  act  more  prudently  in  the  future. — R.  w. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  589 

SLIGHT   MISTAKE   IN    QUOTING   SCRIPTURE. 

A  very  excellent  layman  of  our  church  once  forgot  the  precise 
language  of  a  certain  scripture  passage,  in  expressing  his  admi- 
ration of  one  of  our  recently  deceased  ministers,  who,  during 
many  years,  was  the  honored  head  of  a  Lutheran  institution.  He 
was  walking  with  a  friend  in  the  vicinity  of  the  college,  and  after 
a  general  eulogy  on  the  virtues  of  the  deceased,  wound  up  by 
saying,  "  Yes,  we  may  write  upon  its  walls  Ohadiah,  Ohadiah  ! 
the  glory  has  departed  from  thee  !"     He  meant  Ichabod  ! — c.  s. 

RATHER   INAPPROPRIATE. 

Sometimes  lay  leaders  of  prayer-meetings  select  hymns  and 
passages  of  scripture  that  do  not  suit  the  time  nor  the  occasion. 
Sometimes  ludicrous  as  well  as  unprofitable  selections  are  made. 

At  a  prayer-meeting  of  theological  students,  who  were  all 
bachelors,  the  leader  chose  the  877th  hymn  of  our'  collection, 
evidently  having  just  cast  his  eye  upon  the  first  line,  "  United 
prayers  ascend  to  thee  !"  But  the  heading  certainly  escaped  his 
notice,  which  is,  ''After  the  Bcq^tism  of  an  Infant."  He  read 
the  whole  hymn,  which  consists  of  a  prayer  for  the  father,  mother, 
and  especially  for  the  ''bale"  just  baptized.  Some  of  those 
present  attempted  to  sing  a  part  of  it,  but  it  soon  struck  them  all 
as  so  inappropriate,  and  the  whole  affair  was  so  utterly  ridiculous, 
that  some  of  them  rushed  out  of  the  room  to  give  full  vent  to 
their  uncontrollable  laughter. — c.  s. 

GERMAN   EDITOR. 

When  I  was  pastor  in  Central  Pennsylvania,  writes  a  friend,  I 
preached  a  number  of  sermons  on  temperance.  One  of  my 
parishioners  was  editor  of  a  German  newspaper  in  the  village,  and 
handled  me  severely  in  his  columns.  Among  other  things  he  said, 
"  There  is  a  heaven-wide  difference  between  the  present  preachers 
and  the  Apostle  Paul.  Ministers  now  abuse  taverns,  but  Paul  on 
the  contrary  thanked  God  and  took  courage  when  he  saw  "  Three 
Taverns,"  as  you  can  see  in  Acts  28 :  15." 

A   SHORT    GRACE. 

This  is  related  of  several  of  our  ministers  who  were  on  the  way  to 
Synod  in  the  olden  time,  on  horseback.     They  arrived  at  a  coun- 


590  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

try  tavern  tired  and  liangry,  and  were  compelled  to  wait  a  long 
time  for  dinner.  One  of  them  was  asked  to  say  grace,  which  he 
thus  commenced  and  ended,  "  Thank  God  for  a  good  appetite  ; 
S.  hand  that  sauer-kraut  and  speck  this  way !" 

SEVERE   REBUKE. 

One  of  our  ministers,  in  his  early  clerical  life,  was  a  most  edify- 
ing and  plain  gospel  preacher,  but  he  took  to  metaphysical 
preaching  and  lost  his  influence  in  the  pulpit.  One  of  our  staid, 
sober-sided  older  brethren  went  to  hear  him,  and  next  morning  he 
said  to  him,  "Well,  Bro.  G.,  I  went  last  night  to  your  service, 
expecting  to  have  my  bread  buttered  on  both  sides,  as  on  former 
occasions,  but,  alas !  you  gave  me  nothing  but  a  dry,  hard  crust 
to  gnaw  !" 

CHOICE    OF    A    WIFE. 

Perhaps 'among  all  classes  of  men,  gospel  ministers  often  make 
the  greatest  blunders  in  choosing  a  suitable  help-mate.  I  remem- 
ber the  case  of  the  second  marriage  of  Rev In  making 

his  second  choice  he  visited  a  serving-girl,  perhaps  pious,  but 
totally  uneducated.  Brethren  remonstrated  with  him,  but  all  in 
vain.  Said  he,  "  I  intend  to  gratify  my  own  fancy."  She  had  a 
very  pretty  face  and  a  nice,  neat  little  person.     When  called  to 

one  of  the  churches  in  ....,  the  ladies  of  the  church  politely 

called  on  her.  She  was  unable  to  converse  even  on  the  plainest 
and  every-day  topics.  Thus  did  the  dear  sainted  brother  block 
up  his  own  way  to  extended  usefulness  tliere.  But  the  good  Lord 
of  the  vineyard  soon  took  her  home,  thus  removing  (perhaps)  an 
obstacle  out  of  the  way  of  usefulness.  I  think  I  know  a  number 
of  similar  cases.  How  wisely  ought  we  "men  of  God  "  to  act  in 
all  our  movements,  looking  to  the  great  end  of  our  holy  minis- 
try ? — A.  R. 

A    DARK    REBUKE. 

I  occasionally  preached  for  the  colored  people  in  a  school-house 
of  their  own.  On  one  of  these  occasions  a  number  of  white  men 
were  gathered  outside,  and  were  talking  and  laughing  so  loud  as 
to  annoy  me.  I  requested  one  of  the  colored  Breddern  to  go  out, 
and  beg  the  disturbers  to  be  quiet.  He  was  an  old  and  generally 
respected  man.  He  went,  and  standing  on  the  threshold  ex- 
claimed: "See,  jeah!  yon  white  niggers  out  yer  must  be  quiet;" 
and  they  subsided. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  591 

AFRAID    OF    RESULTS. 

I  was  once  sent  for  to  see  a  dying  man  in  the  country.  After 
having  instructed  hiui  and  prayed  with  him,  I  asked  whether  he 
felt  reconciled  to  God  and  was  not  afraid  to  die?  Pie  was  silent 
for  a  while,  and  then  replied  :  "  I  am  not  afraid  to  die,  but  I  do 
not  like  these  after-claps;  it's  the  after-claps  I  am  afraid  of." 

TAKING    IT    COOLLY. 

Once,  as  I  was  preaching  in  a  school-house,  in  the  mountains  of 
Pennsylvania,  I  noticed  an  old  1  idy  rising  near  the  centre  of  the 
room,  and  making  her  way  towards  the  table,  behind  which  I  was 
standing,  she  deliberately  took  one  of  the  candles  and  proceeded 
to  light  her  pipe.  Perceiving  that  I  hesitated  somewhat,  she 
coolly  remarked  in  words  heard  over  all  the  meeting :  "  Hope  it 
won't  make  you  cough  !"  and  puffed  away  to  her  infinite  satisfac- 
tion.    It  was  some  time  before  I  recovered  my  composure. 

A    STRAY    SHEEP. 

While  preaching  one  summer  afternoon,  the  door  being  open, 
a  sheep  deliberately  walked  up  the  aisLe  and  gravely  looked  me 
in  the  face.  This  caused  a  general  titter,  but  as  the  irreverent 
beast  walked  to  the  opposite  door,  the  sexton  cautiously  slipped 
behind  the  unsuspecting  creature,  and  administering  a  severe  kick, 
sent  it  head  foremost  out  of  the  house.  Many  of  the  people 
laughed  outright.  A  wag  suggested  to  me  afterwards  that  if  I 
were  the  Shepherd  I  ought  to  protect  my  sheep  from  such  rough 
treatment. 

A    DOGMATICAL   ELDER. 

I  had  a  worthy  Elder  who  hated  dogs  most  intensely.  It  so 
happened  one  Sunday  morning  that  a  dog  followed  his  mistress 
to  the  house  of  God.  But,  unfortunately  for  the  dog,  the  pews 
had  doors  to  them,  and  Carlo  could  not  find  the  friend  with  whom 
he  came.  In  order  to  spy  out  the  object  of  his  search,  he  came 
on  the  pulpit  while  I  was  preaching  and  surveyed  very  deliber- 
ately the  entire  audience.  I  at  once  comprehended  the  situation, 
and  dreaded  the  result,  for  I  knew,  if  the  dog  descended  from  the 
opposite  side  of  the  pulpit,  near  which  the  dog-hating  Elder  sat,  a 
dog-fight  would  ensue.  Sure  enough,  down  went  the  dog,  and  up 
jumped  the  Elder  and  seized  the  dog,  and  the  dog,  with  a  hideous 


592  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

yell,  snapped  the  Elder  in  the  hand,  and  the  Elder  not  wishing  to 
retain  his  hold  threw  the  dog  half  the  length  of  the  church  down 
the  aisle,  then  ran  and  caught  the  dog  again,  this  time  hy  the 
back  of  the  neck,  and  bore  him  in  triumph,  yelling  with  all  his 
might  (the  dog  I  mean)  to  the  stairway,  and  threw  him  down 
in  such  a  manner  that  the  dog  regarded  it  as  a  notice  to  quit  the 
premises.  During  the  latter  part  of  the  performance  I  stood  in 
the  pulpit  a  silent  spectator  of  the  contest,  which  ended  in  the 
discomfiture  of  the  dog  and  the  Elder  resuming  his  seat  amid 
much  confusion  in  the  congregation. 

RETRIBUTIVE  PROVIDENCE. 

During  the  first  year  of  my  ministry  I  assisted  Brother  S.  at  a 
protracted  meeting.  The  meeting  became  very  interesting,  and 
there  were  many  asking:  "What  must  I  do  to  be  saved?"  "We 
were  tormented  by  a  man  of  the  iron-side  Baptist  persuasion,  who, 
with  Bible  in  hand,  sought  out  the  enquifers  during  the  intervals 
between  services,  and  tried  to  persuade  them  to  be  dipped  in  the 
river,  close  by,  asserting  that  nothing  more  was  necessary  to  sal- 
vation. He  would  mutter  and  laugh  during  the  time  I  was 
preaching,  and  in  many  ways  showed  his  opposition  to  the  good 
work.  Being  called  on  to  pray  at  the  close  of  the  meeting,  on  a 
Monday  evening,  after  having  been  very  much  annoyed  by  this 
man,  I  became  very  much  excited,  and  thinking  of  David's 
prayers,  recorded  in  the  Psalms,  I  earnestly  besought  God  to  con- 
vert the  opiDOsing  sinner;  or,  if  he,  in  his  infinite  wisdom,  saw  he 
would  not  repent,  he  should  remove  the  stumbling  block  and 
carry  on  the  good  work.  Tuesday  afternoon,  as  he  was  crossing 
the  river  on  horseback,  in  company  with  a  neighbor,  they  stopped 
to  let  their  horses  drink.  When,  struck  with  palsy,  and  being 
about  to  fall  off,  he  was  caught  by  his  friend,  held  on  the  horse 
until  they  reached  the  shore,  when  he  was  taken  from  his  horse 
and  instantly  died  on  the  river  bank.  On  Wednesday  afternoon 
he  was  buried.  The  effect  on  the  community  was  tremendous. 
Besides  his  entire  family,  many  were  added  to  the  church.  But 
the  preacher  was  believed  and  said  to  have  prayed  the  Baptist  to 
death ! 

NOT    EXACTLY. 

A  worthy  Episcopal  clergyman  said  to  me  the  other  day,  that 
at  a  recent  mission  meeting  of  the  bishops  and  others  at  New 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN   THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  593 

York,  seven  German  ministers  who,  he  thought,  were  Lutherans, 
had  applied  for  the  ordination  of  one  of  them  as  a  bishop.  They 
stated  that  they  were  weary  of  the  present  system  of  independency 
in  the  German  churches,  and  wanted  an  authorized  head  who 
woukl  direct  and  control  them.  I  replied  that  a  good  many  Ger- 
man ministers  and  people  woukl  be  better  off  by  having  a  despotic 
ecclesiastical  ruler,  but  I  did  not  think  that  the  Episcopal  au- 
thority, as  exercised  in  this  country,  was  strong  enough  to  control 
some  of  the  Germans  outside  of  our  Synod.  "  IBut,"  yaid  I,  "  I  do 
not  believe  that  these  applicants  for  a  master  were  Lutherans,  or 
members  of  any  Lutheran  Synod,"  and  just  so  it  turns  out.  They 
belong  to  that  mongrel  body  of  ecclesiastical  odds  and  ends,  "  The 
United  Evangelical  Church,"  located  somewhere  in  the  West,  I 
believe.  The  two  men  who  made  personal  application  for  Episco- 
pal power  were  Messrs.  Eisenhauer  and  Weissgerber,  both  sig- 
nificant names.  Whether  they  got  a  German  bishop  is  not  known, 
but  they  were  courteously  received  by  the  bishops,  who,  I  dare 
say,  will  be  in  no  hurry  in  granting  them  their  request.  I  wonder 
whether  these  men  think  that  they  will  carry  their  congregations 
over  into  the  Episcopal  church  when  they  get  a  bishop  ?  That 
was  once  tried  some  years  ago  in  our  own  Synod  by  a  recusant, 
and  to  his  infinite  disgust  not  one  of  his  congregation  followed 
him.  This  was  an  English  church,  and  much  less  will  a  German 
congregation  adopt  the  forms  and  submit  to  the  government  of 
the  Episcopal  church. 

Not  one  of  the  above  seven  applicants  for  admission  into  the 
Episcopal  ministry  has  continued  in  that  church.  There  were  no 
churches  to  give  them,  and  they  could  not  form  any  for  themselves. 
Some  of  them  are  now  in  our  ministry,  and  others  are  "  to  let "  to 
the  highest  bidder. 

A    MINISTER    IN    A    SCRAPE.  . 

As  an  impartial  chronicler  I  dare  not  pass  by  any  fact  that  re- 
lates to  our  profession.  We  are  sometimes  accused  of  concealing 
each  other's  sins;  but  the  charge  is  false.  I  wish  I  could  consis- 
tently ignore  the  following  stunning  fact,  but,  as  an  unso-j?sMcated 
reporter,  I  must  let  the  world  know  it.  About  the  time  of  Hal- 
low-eve, the  mischievous  boys  in  this  city  ring  violently  at  door- 
bells and  then  run  away.  A  certain  old  lady  about  here  was 
grievously  annoyed  by  these  6e^/-igerent  attacks  and  determined 


594  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

to  watch  for  the  offender.  She  stationed  herself  just  inside  the 
door,  and  soon  the  bell  rung  out  sonorously.  The  lady  hastily 
opened  the  door,  caught  the  offender  by  the  collar,  boxed  his  ears 
right  and  left  most  soundly.  He  was  a  diminutive  person,  and  it 
being  dark  she  could  not  recognize  him.  At  every  whack  he  pro- 
tested :  "  Madam,  why  madam  !"  "  Don't  7nadam  me,  you  young 
rascal!"  she  exclaimed,  and  another  blow  made  his  ears  smart 
painfully.  He  begged,  implored.  "  Don't  beg  for  mercy,  you 
graceless  scamp!"  was  the  only  rej^ly,  accompanied  by  another 
thundering  thump  upon  his  auditory  apparatus.  Finally,  becom- 
ing exhausted  by  her  combative  demonstrations,  she  dragged  the 
little  man  into  the  hall  that  she  might  recognize  the  offender  by 
the  gaslight,  and  "  tell  his  mother,"  as  she  said,  when  whom  should 
she  discover  in  the  person  of  her  victim  but  her  own  minister, 
who  had  called  to  pay  a  friendly  visit ! 

A    QUEER   SUBJECT. 

A  few  weeks  ago  a  young  man  whom  I  did  not  know,  expressed 
his  desire  to  study  for  the  ministry.  I,  of  course,  enquired  into 
his  moral  and  mental  character,  and  I  will  give  you  the  substance 
of  the  dialogue  :  "  Who  is  your  pastor  ?"  "  I  have  none."  "  Of 
what  church  are  you  a  member  ?"  "  Of  none."  "  Where  do  you 
go  to  church  ?".  "Nowhere."  "  Are  you  a  professor  of  religion  ?" 
"No."  "Do  you  read  the  Scriptures?"  "No!"  "Do  you 
pray  ?"  "  No  !"  "  Have  you  any  sense  of  personal  guilt,  and  do 
you  feel  the  need  of  a  Redeemer  ?"  "  Not  particularly."  "  What 
is  your  motive  in  seeking  the  ministry?"  "0,  I  think  it  is  a  re- 
spectable sort  of  life."  "And  you  expect  to  make  money,  do 
you?"     "  Yes,  enough  to  live  upon." 

This  was  about  the  substance  of  a  long  talk,  and  what  do  you 
think  of  that? — did  you  ever  encounter  a  case  like  that? — did 
anybody  ? 

The  man  was  not  insane,  nor  drunk,  and  yet  such  were  his 
answers.  How  did  I  treat  him  you  ask  ?  Well,  how  do  you  think  ? 
I  was  not  severe  but  I  showed  up  his  folly  and  stupidity  in  a  way 
that  will  do  him  good  all  his  days.  You  may  conceive  what  a 
sensible  man  would  say  to  such  an  infatuated  youth,  and  just  in- 
tensify it  ten-fold,  and  you  will  have  the  character  of  my  preach- 
ing to  him.  I  do  not  think  he  will  come  again  until  his  heart  is 
changed.     He  went  away  thanking  me  for  my  candor  and  fidelity. 


FIFTY    YKAES    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  595 

He  said  he  never  saw  the  subject  set  forth  in  that  light  before, 
and  he  concluded  "to  seek  some  other  respectable  profession." 

HOW   A   YOUNG    MINISTER    FAILED    BEING    ELECTED. 

One  of  our  ministers,  at  present  pastor  of  one  of  our  most 
prominent  city  churches,  was  a  candidate  for  a  church  when  a 
young  man,  but  was  not  elected.  His  sermons  pleased  everybody, 
his  character  was  irreproachable,  his  talents  of  the  first  grade,  and 
his  manners  mild  and  gentlemanly.  All  the  members  had  made 
up  their  minds  to  vote  for  him,  but  to  tlieir  surprise,  on  election 
day,  an  old  and  influential  elder  rose  and  objected.  The  people 
were  surprised  and  demanded  the  reasons.  The  old  man  replied, 
"Well,  brethren,  I  will  tell  you.  Several  years  ago,  when  this 
candidate  was  a  student  in  the  seminary,  one  Sunday  morning  I 
was  passing  his  boarding-house  and  I  heard  some  one  splitting 
wood  in  the  cellar;  I  looked  into  the  cellar  window,  and  there  I 
saw  this  young  man  hard  at  work,  and  I  will  not  vote  for  any 
man  as  our  minister  who,  when  a  student,  would  split  wood  on 
Sunday  r'     And  he  was  defeated! 

DRESSING    FOR    ORDINATION. 

One  of  our  young  men  about  to  be  ordained,  and  desirous  of 
being  more  than  usually  neat  in  his  toilet,  asked  his  land-lady  for 
some  hair  oil.  She  directed  him  to  go  to  her  chamber,  and  he 
would  find  a  bottle  on  her  toilet  table.  He  went,  and,  it  being 
twilight,  he  unfortunately  got  hold  of  a  bottle  of  Winslow's  syrup 
and  bathed  his  head  liberally  with  that  saccharine  mixture.  In 
attempting  to  comb  his  hair,  he  found  great  difliculty,  and  what 
was  he  to  do,  as  the  church  bells  were  already  ringing!  He  ap- 
plied soap,  and  that  made  it  worse.  He  rushed  away  in  a  phrenzy, 
and  when  the  administrating  minister,  who  had  laid  his  hands  upon 
his  head  in  the  act  of  ordination,  was  about  to  withdraw  them, 
the  candidate's  hair  stuck  to  his  fingers,  and  it  was  raised  several 
inches,  leading  the  celebrant  to  believe  that  the  candidate's  wig' 
was  coming  off.  Young  men,  do  not  mistake  Winslow's  .syrup  for 
Macassar  hair  oil ! 

SHORT    MOTTO. 

One  of  our  German  ministers  was  asked  by  the  bell-founder, 
what  motto  he  should  put  on  a  bell  which  he  was  making  for  the 


59(5  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

minister's  churcli  steeple.  The  latter  instantly  replied,  Vocovoca- 
tos  This  is  equal  to  Melanchthon's  short  grace  at  table,  Ben- 
edictus  hencdicat. 

DAIRYMEN. 

At  a  western  Synod  when  several  candidates  were  licensed,  the 
minister  who  read  the  instructions  to  them  pronounced  several 
v.'ords  in  a  way  that  was  not  classic.  He  told  them  "they  were 
now  licenaures  and  were  expected  to  keep  a  dairy"  (diary).  For 
some  years  they  were  called  by  their  brethren,  the  Dairymen  ! 

THE   RULING    PASSION. 

A  pastor  told  me  that  he  was  once  called  in' a  great  hurry  to 
see  a  dying  parishioner.  He  went  and  found  the  man,  as  he 
thought,  near  his  end.  He  thought  he  would  not  have  much  time 
to  talk  to  him  before  his  expected  decease,  and  after  a  few  words, 
knelt  and  fervently  prayed  for  the  dying  brother.  He  had  hardly 
pronounced  his  amen,  and  had  not  yet  risen  from  his  knees,  when 
the  man  who  was  thought  to  be  dying  and  his  mind  fixed  on 
eternal  things,  said,  "  Domine,  have  3^ou  set  out  your  cabbage 
plants  yet !" 

SHARP    REBUKE. 

The  late  Dr.  P.  Sahm  was  engaged  in  a  protracted  meeting  in 
an  unevangelized  section  of  the  country.  The  ministers  were  often 
disturbed  by  turbulent  scamps.  One  evening  the  Doctor  preached 
on  "The  Terrors  of  the  Law,"  and  depicted  the  awful  condition 
of  the  finally  impenitent.  In  the  midst  of  his  earnest  discourse, 
a  young  man  exclaimed,  "  Doctor,  where  is  hell  ?"  The  large  as- 
sembly were  amazed  at  the  boldness  of  the  man,  and  some  of 
them  thought  that  the  Doctor  would  be  so  confused  as  to  be  una- 
ble to  reply.  But  he  looked  at  the  audacious  disturber,  then,  in 
a  loud  voice,  he  replied,  "  Young  man,  hell  is  at  the  end  of  the 
road  on  which  you  are  traveling  !"  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the 
intruder  subsided  and  the  preacher  continued  without  further  in- 
terruption. 

LOCKED-OUT    AT    A    FUNERAL. 

While  preaching  in  Wayne  county,  one  of  my  members,  a  young 
lady  who  lived  with  her  parents  near  an  old  Lutheran  church, 
died,  and  I  attended  the  funeral.     It  was  expected  that  I  would 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN   THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  597 

preach  in  the  church,  but  when  the  procession,  I  being  in  front, 
got  to  the  church,  we  found  the  doors  locked  against  the  dead  and 
the  living,  and  we  had  to  go  into  the  woods,  and  there  hold  our 
services,  I  never  before  had  a  proper  idea  of  the  wickedness  of 
these  poor,  old,  unconverted  people.  There  was  the  deacon  with 
the  key  in  his  pocket,  and  others  like  him  standing  around,  sneer- 
ing at  the  preacher  and  the  congregation. 

I  stood  up  beside  a  big  tree,  and  announced  as  my  text:  "  We 
must  all  stand  before  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ."  I  just  felt 
like  preaching  from  such  a  text ;  but  I  was  not  angry,  my  heart 
was  tender,  but  I  felt  like  preaching,  and  God  gave  me  great 
power  to  preach  in  the  woods  that  day.  Among  other  things  I 
showed  how  that  deacon  would  feel  in  that  terrible  day,  with  the 
key  in  his  hand,  when  Christ  would  ask  him,  why  he  locked  the 
■door  against  the  dead,  whose  spirit  he  had  received  into  heaven? 
I  also  said,  I  would  not  be  surprised  if  that  deacon  would  hang 
himself  inside  of  a  year,  and  stand  before  an  insulted  God. 
Though  I  am  no  prophet,  yet  this  did  actually  come  to  pass  ;  he 
hanged  himself  during  that  year.  How  dreadful  the  thought! 
Another  one  of  the  same  party  fell  from  a  tree  and  broke  his  back 
the  same  year. — s.  r. 

A    SINGULAR    PROVIDENCE. 

At  the  end  of  my  second  year  in  Wooster  charge,  I  felt  it  my 
duty  to  leave  and  go  where  I  thought  I  might  be  more  useful.  I 
presented  my  resignation  to  the  council  of  the  East  Union  con- 
gregation, and  after  proper  consideration  they  agreed  to  accept  it 
and  let  me  go.  There  was  a  neighborhood  of  very  wicked  people 
some  three  miles  from  this  church,  who  frequently  came  to  hear 
me  preach,  and  being  hit  pretty  severely  every  time  they  came, 
they  would  go  away  complaining,  and  often  swearing  at  me. 
When  they  heard  that  I  was  about  to  leave,  and  that  the  council 
had  agreed  to  it,  they  went  to  the  council  and  urged  them  to 
recall  that  action,  saying  they  feared  they  would  all  go  to 
perdition  if  I  left.  Through  them  the  council  were  induced  to 
call  a  meeting  of  the  whole  church,  and  take  a  vote  on  the  subject. 
The  result  was  a  general  vote  of  Lutherans,  other  Christians  and 
all  sinners,  that  I  should  remain  another  year.  I  did  so,  and 
that  year  we  had  a  gracious  revival,  in  which  sixty-five  were 
converted,  and  among  these  converts  were  many  of  those  sinners 
in  that  neighborhood  just  referred  to. — s.  K. 
38 


598  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

ANOTHER    PROVIDENCE   WORTHY    OF    RECORD. 

In  the  fall  of  1841  the  Synod  met  in  Bucyriis.  A  number  of 
us  were  on  our  way  to  Synod  on  horseback  ;  as  we  came  near  the 
town  of  Gallon,  late  in  the  evening,  the  subject  of  remaining  over 
night  was  introduced  among  the  preachers.  There  were  but  few 
members  of  our  church  in  the  town,  and  we  feared  they  could 
not  keep  us  all  with  our  horses.  As  I  had  preached  here  some 
years  previously,  I  was  determining  in  my  own  mind  how  many 
such  and  such  families  might  entertain.  I  had  made  out  a  place 
for  all  in  our  company,  excepting  myself;  just  as  we  came  up  to 
a  tavern,  where  a  sign  was  elevated  upon  a  long  pole,  one  of  the 
brethren  remarked  :  "  Brother  Solomon,  you  had  better  stop  here." 
They  all  laughed,  and  to  carry  out  the  joke  I  turned  about  and 
went  in.  I  found  a  very  excellent  lady  and  nice  little  children, 
but  the  husband  and  father  was  intoxicated.  I  remained  over 
night,  was  very  well  treated,  and  in  the  morning  had  a  long  talk 
with  the  man,  when  he  was  sober,  and  prayed  with  the  family.  I 
felt  that  I  was  in  the  right  place,  and  that  good  would  result. 

On  our  return  from  Synod  we  found  the  sign  and  pole  lying  flat 
on  the  ground.  The  man  had  reformed  and  cut  down  the  sign. 
Soon  afterwards  he  united  with  the  church.  One  of  his  sons  is 
now  a  minister  of  the  Lutheran  church.  So  much  was  accom- 
pished  by  jokingly  turning  into  the  old  tavern  that  night, 
brethren,  never  shun  a  sinner's  house.  Don't  despise  a  drunkard, 
but  reform  him  if  you  can. — s.  R. 

LOCKED-OUT    AGAIN — A   GAY    TIME. 

While  preaching  at  Bolivar,  I  went  out  into  the  country  to 
preach  in  an  old  Lutheran  and  German  Reformed  church  four 
miles  from  town.  As  I  walked  up  towards  the  old  castle,  two 
stories  high,  the  church  council  met  me  with  red  faces  and  sour 
looks,  a  great  crowd  following  them,  and  forming  a  circle  around 
me.  It  resembled  somewhat  a  shooting-match  fight.  The  coun- 
cil informed  me  that  the  church  was  locked,  and  I  could  not 
preach  in  it.  I  asked  them  why  ?  They  answered,  "  Because  you 
are  one  of  them  Schivermers."  I  then  asked  them  whether  they 
had  bees  at  home  ?  They  said  they  had.  I  asked  if  they  ever 
swarmed?  They  answered,  "Yes."  By  this  time  the  crowd  be- 
came funny.     I  asked  them  then  what  became  of  bees  if  they 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  599 

don't  swarm  any  more?  They  said  they  died.  I  replied,  "That 
will  be  the  case  with  you  old  Lutherans,  if  you  don't  swarm 
soon."  This  made  a  gay  time  for  a  little  while.  The  council 
were  mad,  and  the  crowd  laughed  immoderately.  I  then  told 
them  there  was  more  room  outside  than  inside,  that  the  air  was 
much  purer  and  more  healthy,  and  I  would  preach  under  the 
trees.  The  people  then  gathered  and  sat  on  the  fence,  on  logs, 
and  on  the  grass,  and  I  preached  from  the  text  Rom.  x.  2 :  "  For 
I  bear  them  record  that  they  have  a  zeal  of  God,  but  not  accord- 
ing to  knowledge."  I  went  at  it  in  earnest  to  give  those  old  Jews 
a  good  dressing.  They  needed  it.  So  passed  that  precious  time, 
and  we,  somehow,  all  went  home  edified. — s.  R. 

WONDERFUL    CONVERSIONS. 

A  worthy  minister  of  our  church,  now  deceased,  was  led  to  se- 
rious reflection  by  visiting  the  "  infernal  regions,"  a  representa- 
tion of  hell,  in  a  Cincinnati  theatre.  Horrible  flames  and  flashes 
of  fire  are  seen,  with  numerous  skeletons  rising  and  gnashing  their 
teeth  as  though  in  awful  agony.  He  rushed  from  the  room,  nearly 
frantic,  with  the  thought  fixed  in  his  mind,  "If  this  be  a  mere 
representation,  what  must  be  the  reality."  This  impressed  his 
mind  so  deeply  that  he  betook  himself  to  prayer,  which  resulted 
in  his  conversion. 

Another,  yet  living,  when  a  student  at  Gettysburg,  and  uncon- 
verted, visited  a  theatre  in  Philadelphia.  In  the  progress  of  the 
play  a  lady  appeared  on  the  stage,  and  dropping  upon  her 
knees,  made  a  prayer.  He  said  the  appearance  of  the  lady,  her 
manner,  her  tone  of  voice  and  her  prayer  were  all  those  of  his 
mother.  He  was  startled,  and  suddenly  rushed  from  the  theatre, 
went  to  his  room,  fell  upon  his  knees  and  gave  himself  to  God  and 
to  the  ministry. 

Two  of  our  ministers  in  their  youth  and  wickedness  agreed  to 
hold  a  burlesque  Sunday  school.  This  they  would  attend  on  Sun- 
day morning  for  sport,  and  then  engage  in  all  sorts  of  wickedness 
in  the  afternoon  and  evening.  In  a  few  months  one  of  them  be- 
came either  tired  or  ashamed  of  this  conduct  and  proposed  to  the 
other  to  stop.  To  his  utter  amazement  his  friend  told  him  that  it 
was  no  more  fun  with  hira,  but  serious  earnest.  The  next  Sunday 
A.  offered  an  extemporaneous  prayer  that  produced  such  an  effect 
upon  the  mind  of  G.  that  they  spent  the  afternoon  in  prayer,  and 


600  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

both  gave  themselves  to    God  and  dedicated   themselves  to  the 
ministry. 

HOW    PEOPLE   DO    TALK. 

Last  Sunday  I  happened  to  fall  in  with  a  group  of  persons,  some 
of  whom  had  just  come  out  of  a  large  German  lecture-room,  (I 
cannot  call  it  a  church,  it  formerly  was,  but  alas !)  I  could  not 
help  hearing  their  conversation,  and  I  was  interested  in  it.  One 
of  the  persons  was  a  Jewess,  who  has  some  reputation  here  as  a 
vocalist,  who  had  evidently  been  employed  to  assist  the  choir,  on 
that  day,  at  least,  with  her  splendid  voice.  She  was  asked  : 
"  What  do  they  preach  in  that  church?"  "  Well,"  said  the  pretty 
Jewess,  "he  preached  to-day  that  Christ  was  a  good  man,  who 
gave  laws  a  little  better  than  Moses,  but  evidently  he  didn't  make 
much  more  of  Christ  than  of  Moses — but,"  she  continued,  "  he 
said  that  Luther  committed  many  errors,  and  that  sounded  queer 
to  me,  for  they  call  themselves  Lutherans !"  There  it  is,  you  see, 
but  fortunately  for  us,  all  well-informed  people  here  know  that 
the  rationalistic  concern  alluded  to  is  not  Lutheran  ;  neither  do 
the  lecturer,  nor  his  hearers,  belong  to  any  Lutheran  Synod,  nor 
would  they  be  received  into  any  with  their  present  unscriptural 
and  un-Lutheran  opinions. 

CHURCH    ATTACHMENT. 

One  Sunday  morning  after  service,  my  sexton  came  to  me  and 
said  there  was  a  youg  man  at  the  church  door  who  desired  to  see 
me.  I  went,  and  a  young  stranger  of  foreign  appearance  addressed 
me  in  the  most  imperfect  English.  From  his  accent  I  discovered 
he  was  a  Frenchman,  and  I  soon  put  him  at  ease  on  the  score  of 
language.  He  was  overjoyed,  and  in  a  pure  Parisian  style  ex- 
pressed his  extreme  gratification  at  my  ability  to  converse  with 
him.  Upon  inquiry,  I  learned  that  he  was  a  French  Lutheran 
from  Paris,  and  although  his  unassuming  manner  and  unaffected 
politeness  were  calculated  to  beget  confidence,  yet  I  put  a  few 
questions  to  him  about  certain  Lutheran  ministers  and  the  locality 
of  some  Lutheran  churches  in  Paris,  which  at  once  removed  any 
suspicions  I  might  have  entertained,  which  are  so  natural  to  us 
Americans  who  have  sometimes  been  deceived  by  the  pretensions 
of  foreigners.  Upon  asking  him  how  he  found  out  my  church, 
rather  than  some  others  in  the  city,  he  said  he  had  been  in  the 
city  but  a  few  days,  and  the  first  thing  he  did  was  to  learn  from 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  601 

the  directory  the  location  of  the  Lutheran  churches,  and  mine 
happened  to  be  the  nearest  to  his  boarding-house.  He  understood 
little  or  nothing  of  my  sermon,  but  he  wanted  to  worship  in  a 
Lutheran  church.  I  found  him  a  pious,  intelligent  and  well- 
educated  young  man,  who,  on  that  occasion  and  in  subsequent 
interviews,  gave  me  much  interesting  information  respecting 
Lutheranism  in  Paris.  He  is  still  here  pursuing  business,  and  is 
a  regular  communicant  in  the  church. 

This  affair  is  not  important  in  itself,  but  it  shows  the  excellency 
of  strong  church  attachment,  and  is  a  good  example  for  young 
men  in  a  strange  place  to  find  out  the  churches  of  their  fathers, 
to  make  themselves  known  to  the  ministers  and  to  associate  with 
their  own  people,  and  is  a  rebuke  to  those  who,  when  they  leave 
home,  too  often  forget  their  church  obligation,  or  join  the  com- 
munion of  others. 

ANOTHER. 

A  member  of  our  church  who  resided  in  a  section  of  country 
where  there  were  no  Lutherans,  worshipped  with  Methodists  and 
Presbyterians.  He  was  a  very  active  Christian,  and  of  course 
was  very  desirable  as  a  member.  One  party  promised  him  the 
position  of  class-leader  if  he  would  join  them ;  the  other  had  the 
office  of  elder  to  offer  him  ;  but  he  would  not  leave  the  church  of 
his  fathers.  In  telling  me  this  f§Lct,  he  added  :  "  I  thought  of 
what  Martin  Luther  might  say  to  me  in  heaven  the  first  time  he 
would  meet  me,  "  Bro.  W.,  I'm  ashamed  of  you  for  leaving  your 
brethren  down  there  in  the  world!"  and  what  could  I  say  in  ex- 
cuse? No,  I'll  not  leave  my  mother-church,  even  though  I  be  the 
only  Lutheran  in  this  neighborhood." 

ANOTHER. 

In  the  early  days  of  my  ministry  I  was  present  and  heard  a 
conversation  between  two  aged  fathers  of  the  church,  who  have 
now  rested  in  their  graves  forty  years.  Said  one:  "  Erotlier,  if 
an  enemy  stood  here  with  a  drawn  sword,  and  said  to  me  :  '  Deny 
thy  faith,  or  I  will  strike  off  thy  head  ;'  I  would  say  :  '  Strike,  in 
God's  name.'  "  "  So  would  I,"  replied  the  other.  "  I  wouldn't  turn 
a  hair's  breadth  from  my  faith  to  save  my  life."  And  I  have  no 
more  doubt  than  I  have  of  my  existence,  that  both  would  have 
suffered  martyrdom  if  they  had  been  put  to  the  test.— Lin iner. 
Sisior.  Disc.  p.  21.     Note. 


602  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTBY, 

WRITTEN    SERMONS. 

Some  years  ago  I  heard  a  young  gentleman  preach,  who  was 
fresh  from  the  Seminary  of  Gettysburg.  I  will  not  say  that  he 
had  completed  his  studies,  for  that  I  hope  he  will  never  do  until 
he  completes  his  earthly  existence.  I  was  pleased  with  the  logi- 
cal arrangement  of  his  discourse,  and  the  studied  propriety  of  his 
language,  the  simple  elegance  of  his  illustrations,  and  the  rich, 
suggestive  thought  which  the  sermon  displayed.  There  was, 
besides,  a  glow  of  piety  and  a  modest  energy  of  elocution  which 
were  very  impressive.  I  said  to  him  afterward  :  "  I  presume,  my 
young  friend,  you  have  just  preached  a  ivritten  sermon."  I  shall 
never  forget  his  reply.  "Yes,  sir,"  said  he,  "  and  at  my  time  of 
life  I  should  be  ashamed  to  preach  any  other."  I  shook  him 
warmly  by  the  hand  and  congratulated  him  upon  his  success.  He 
then  remarked,  that  he  felt  a  holy  ambition  to  preach  well,  and 
was  perfectly  satisfied  that  no  young  man  could  preach  well  who 
did  not  fully  write  out  his  sermons.  I  coincided  in  his  opinion, 
and  so  will  all  who  are  competent  to  form  a  reasonable  opinion 
upon  this  subject.  We  both  agreed  that  mere  fluency  of  utterance 
and  energy  of  action  did  not  constitute  good  preaching. 

BAD    MANNERS. 

I  shall  never  forget  a  circumstance  that  is  said  to  have  occurred 
in  the  house  of  a  minister,  which  effectually  cured  an  awkward 
country  parson  of  the  impolite  habit,  so  common,  of  tilting  the 
chair  against  the  wall  and  planting  the  feet  upon  the  cross-stick 
below.  It  is  an  indecent  and  slovenly  posture.  One  day  this 
man  was  not  quite  so  near  the- wall  as  he  thought,  and  tilting 
back,  down  he  went,  smashing  a  pan  of  milk  that  the  good  wife 
of  the  house  had  set  near  the  stove  to  thicken,  nearly  annihilating 
one  cat  that  was  lying  there,  and  so  frightening  another  as  to 
cause  her  to  rush  out  of  the  room  through  a  broken  pane  of  glass 
that  had  been  mended  with  a  sheet  of  paper.  The  squealing  cat, 
the  broken  jar,  with  its  milky  contents  all  bespattered  over  the 
clothes  and  face  of  the  "fallen  hero,"  his  convulsive  struggled  in 
rising  and  the  noise  of  his  scrambling,  beside  his  indescribable 
appearance,  all  presented  a  very  ludicrous  scene,  and  yet  he  bore 
it  all  with  much  patience.  At  length  he  gravely  began  to  scrape 
the  milky  material  from  his  coat,  and  being  somewhat  of  a  wit, 
dryly  remarked,  "  That  he  was  scraping  a  very  intimate  acquain- 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  603 

tance,  and  studying  the  nature  of  the  milky  whey,  but  he  would 
rather  have  this  half-elaborated  schmear  kaes  on  his  bread  than 
on  his  back,"  and  wound  up  by  asking,  "  "Whether  our  cat  was 
going  into  the  circus  business  and  practicing  jumping  through  a 
hoop  covered  with  paper?"  and  concluded  that  he  never  saw  such 
a  house,  for  it  had  no  room  that  would  hold  a  cat  or  a  chair  that 
would  hold  a  man.  • 

AN    HONEST   CONFESSION. 

Some  years  ago  two  of  our  northern  ministers  were  seated  on  a 
bench  in  tiie  capitol  grounds  at  Washington.  They  had  been  life- 
long friends,  and  had  always  belonged  to  the  same  Synod.  It  was 
on  the  fast-day  appointed  by  President  Harrison,  in  1841.  They 
were  both  sad  and  disposed  to  a  mutual  exhibition  of  their  "  inner 
life."  After  freely  exchanging  views  and  feelings  very  frater- 
nally, the  elder  of  the  two,  since  deceased,  with  some  emotion 
said  :  "  Brother  P.,  I  now  tell  you,  candidly,  that  for  some  years 
of  my  ministry  I  was  under  the  malign  influence  of  rationalistic 
notions  imbibed  from  my  theological  preceptor,  and  I  preached 
only  at  the  heads  of  my  people,  and  endeavored  to  make  them  up- 
right and  religious  by  the  precepts  of  morality,  but  it  was  not  till 
I  preached  to  their  hearts  and  told  the  tale  of  Calvary,  and  un- 
folded the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  in  the  atoning  blood 
of  Christ,  that  souls  were  converted,  and  I  began  to  make  full 
proof  of  my  ministry." — H.  N.  p. 

A   MINISTERIAL   SELF-DENIAL. 

A  ministerial  self-denial  was  lately  reported,  of  which,  I  think, 
you  newspaper  men  did  not  make  enough.  The  church  of  one  of 
our  Western  German  ministers  was  in  peril  of  being  sold  by  the 
sheriff.  The  minister  was  sorely  distressed  ;  his  people  were  too 
poor  to  pay  the  debt ;  they  corfld  not  borrow  the  money  ;  and  the 
minister,  rather  than  be  deprived  of  his  house  of  worship,  abso- 
lutely sold  his  own  small  residence  to  raise  the  money,  with  very 
little  prospect  of  ever  having  it  returned.  That  I  call  missionary 
pluck  ;  and  if  it  had  happened  in  some  other  churches  I  know, 
there  would  have  been  newspaper  plaudits  loud  as  thunder. 

THEOLOGY    AND    METAPHYSICS. 

Bro.  H.,  of  C,  was  once  invited  to  address  the  theological  class 
of  W.  college.     There  were  present,  among  others,  R.  and  S.  R. 


604  FIFTY    YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

H.'s  theme  was  "  The  claims  of  a  thorough  training  in  mental 
philosophy  upon  the  ministry."  He  gave  entire  satisfaction  to  all 
except  R.,  who,  on  the  following  evening,  preached  in  the  college 
church,  and  took  occasion  to  denounce  H.'s  position  and  spoke  of 
the  utter  futility  of  all  metaphysics.  S.  R.  was  in  the  pulpit  with 
him  and  very  much  chagrined  at  the  course  pursued.  R.  con- 
cluded and  called  upon  S.  R.  to  close  with  prayer.  He  arose  and 
began  his  prayer  something  like  this:  "0  Lord,  we  thank  thee 
for  the  Bible  and  its  holy  influences.  We  thank  thee  for  the 
intimate  union  between  theology  and  metaphysics  as  mutual  aids 
to  each  other  and  our  advantages  therefrom,  but  0,  Lord,  have 
mercy  upon  those  ministf»rs  who  have  neither  theology  nor  meta- 
physics," etc. 

A    WEDDING   DANCE    BROKEN   UP. 

A  student  of  Gettysburg  of  many  years  ago,  relates  the  follow- 
ing: 

Music  and  dancing  were  going  on  briskly  over  there,  while  some 
of  us  were  studying  and  others  sleeping.  Suddenly  there  was  a 
change  in  the  noise  over  at  the  shehang.  Instead  of  the  sound  of 
the  fiddle  and  foot-pats,  there  was  singing,  praying  and  weeping. 
One  voice  was  heard  above  all  the  rest — and  it  was  terrible.  All 
the  students,  together  with  Black  Jim,  were  roused  up  and  rushed 
to  the  door  and  windows  of  the  "Brotherhood"  to  see  and  hear 
what  was  wrong.  The  students  were  all  in  quarters  but  Brother  B. 
Perhaps  he  ma}^  be  down  town — out  late.  But  no,  it  is  his 
awful  voice  over  yonder,  and  he  must  be  there.  Yes,  behold, 
he  is  there  praying,  and  the  whole  company  down  weeping.  What 
a  talk  among  the  students  of  the  "  Brotherhood."  Yes,  it  is  B.! 
What  a  voice !  What  a  venture  !  What  boldness  !  What  will  be 
the  result !  All  sorts  of  opinions  were  expressed  among  the  young 
prophets.  Presently  there  was  a  turning  out  from  the  shebang, 
and  a  hurrying  home — some  weeping  and  others  in  very  earnest 
conversation.  The  dance  is  completely  broken  up.  One  large  fat 
man,  who  at  first  fell  on  his  knees  with  others,  rose  up  before  the 
prayer  was  ended,  and  hurrying  down  the  street,  reported  to  the 
serenading  party,  who  were  coming  up  to  greet  the  wedding  folks 
with  all  kinds  of  music,  such  as  horns,  cow-bells,  etc.  This  party 
being  greatly  disappointed,  became  exceedingly  mad,  and  came  up 
to  the  "  Brotherhood  "  making  a  terrible  noise,  running  their  horns 
into  the  windows  and  blowing  at  an  awful  rate,  determined  to 


FIFTY    YEARS   IK    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  G05 

Have  revenge  upon  us.  Brother  B.  kept  very  quiet,  and  it  was 
well  lie  did.  Brother  J.  B.  D.,  a  very  smooth  speaker,  acted  as 
Aaron  for  us.  He  stepped  out  and  made  a  speech  to  the  crowd, 
anil  succeeded  in  getting  up  such  a  division  among  them  that  they 
could  do  nothing,  and  were  compelled  to  leave  the  ground.  Thus 
ended  this  dreadful  matter,  and  we  all  retired  to  rest. 

AN   APPRECIATIVE    DOG,    AN   UNCOMPROMISING   DEACON,    AND   A 
SPRIGHTLY    IRISHMAN. 

In  this  same  old  log  meeting-house  I  also,  at  one  time,  got  into  a 
rather  funny  predicament.  Here  not  only  the  Christians  and 
ugly  rowdies,  andr  noisy  babies,  but  even  the  dogs  came  to  the 
meeting.  One  time  I  noticed,  after  going  into  the  pulpit,  a  large, 
respectable  looking  dog  lying  in  front  of  the  altar  railing,  pant- 
ing and  looking  up  at  me.  As  he  was  quiet,  I  concluded  he  might 
remain,  perhaps  he  would  behave  as  well  as  some  of  the  other 
folks  in  that  neighborhood.  So  I  gave  out  my  text  and  com- 
menced preaching.  The  text  was  Isa.  xxviii :  20.  "  The  bed  is 
shorter  than  that  a  man  can  stretch  himself  on  it,  and  the  cover- 
ing narrower  than  that  he  can  wrap  himself  in  it." 

I  went  on  to  show  that  the  bed  represented  the  foundation  upon 
W'hich  sinners  rested  their  hopes  of  salvation,  and  why  it  was  too 
short,  what  was  meant  by  the  covering  and  why  it  was  too  narrow. 

Well,  the  dog  was  among  my  best  hearers  ;  for  while  some  slept 
and  others  misbehaved,  he  watched  me  closely,  and  occasionally, 
when  I  became  loud  and  violent  in  my  gestures,  he  responded  with 
a  slight  bark.  One  of  my  deacons,  becoming  annoyed  with  this, 
determined  to  put  the  dog  out.  He  came  forward  and  abrujjtly 
ordered  the  dog  out,  but  the  only  answer  was  a  look  and  a  growl. 
I  asked  the  deacon  to  let  him  alone  and  not  interrupt  the  service, 
but  his  wrath  was  kindled  by  the  dog  growling  at  him,  and  he 
savagely  grabbed  the  poor  creature  by  the  tail  and  ran,  dragging 
him  backwards  toward  the  door,  the  dog  scratching  for  dear  life 
and  trying  to  hold  on  to  the  floor  with  his  claws,  but  the  deacon 
had  the  advantage,  and  the  dog  had  to  go  out.  Poor  dog !  I 
wished  the  uncompromising  old  deacon  no  harm,  but,  like  many 
others  in  the  house,  I  did  wish  the  dog  would  bite  him  just  a 
little. 

This  took  place  just  as  I  had  ended  my  first  division — ihc  short 
bed.     You  may  suppose  this  little  episode  caused  a  rather  amusing 


606  FIFTY    YEAES   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

break  in  the  sermon  just  here.  I  stood  there  looking  on,  and 
seeing  how  the  congregation  enjoyed  it,  all  the  time  wondering 
how  I  could  collect  my  thoughts  and  get  the  attention  of  the 
people  Lack  again  to  the  sermon.  I  had  noticed  a  little  Irishman 
in  the  congregation  who  was  very  attentive  to  the  sermon  and 
who  paid  very  little  attention  to  the  fuss  with  the  dog,  but  looked 
serious  all  the  time.  I  concluded  he  was  a  better  man  than  I,  for 
I  was  so  full  of  laugh  that  I  could  scarcely  commence  again. 

By  way  of  introducing  the  matter  again,  I  looked  up  and 
remarked,  that  during  this  funny  little  episode  with  the  dog,  I 
had  almost  forgotten  where  I  left  off  in  the  sermon.  Upon  this, 
the  little  Irishman  sang  out — "  If  ye  plase,  sir,  ye  lift  off  jist  where 
the  bed  was  too  short."  This  startled  the  congregation  again 
worse  than  ever,  and  I  was  in  the  same  fix  with  them,  but  I  finally 
got  command  of  myself  again  and  went  on  with  the  second  divi- 
sion, but  made  it  very  short  and  closed  up  the  meeting. — s.  R. 

INVITATION    TO    A    BALL. 

In  the  spring  of  1840  I  organized  the  English  Lutheran  church 
of  Wooster  with  twenty  members.  We  worshipped  in  an  old  frame 
building  which  had  been  the  first  court-house.  Our  church  was 
among  the  small  things  of  earth,  but  we  had  a  noble,  devoted  little 
band.  At  that  time  Wooster  was  a  great  place  for  drinking, 
dancing,  etc.  I  preached  earnestly  and  faithfully  against  all  such 
folly  and  wickedness.  This  made  the  devil's  children  mad,  and 
they  sought  a  way  to  hurt  my  feelings.  On  the  occasion  of  a  big 
ball,  they  sent  me  a  ticket  as  they  did  to  some  rowdies.  My 
impulse  was  to  go,  and  do  my  duty  as  a  good  minister  of 
Jesus  Christ,  but  my  council  objected  and  advised  me  not  to  go, 
for  fear  I  might  be  handled  roughly  if  I  commenced  to  preach, 
sing  or  pray  there.  So,  instead  of  going,  I  sat  down  and  wrote  as 
polite  a  letter  as  I  could,  in  which  I  gave  them  eleven  reasons 
why  I  could  not  attend  their  ball,  as  a  Christian  and  a  minister 
of  Christ,  and  concluded  by  extending  to  them  an  invitation  to 
come  to  my  very  humble  little  church  the  next  Sunday  and  hear 
me  preach.  I  sent  this  letter  to  the  judge  of  the  court,  who  was 
one  of  the  party,  and  requested  him  to  read  it  to  all  in  the  ball- 
room, which  I  was  informed  he  did. 

The  next  Sunday  they  came  in  a  company  to  my  church,  and  it 
was  crowded  full  of  the  gay  and  feathery  girls  and  their  gallants. 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  607 

It  was  a  fashionable  congregation  for  once.  It  had  been  intimated 
to  me  that  they  would  come,  and  I  prepared  to  preach  oji  the 
text,  "  God  forbid  that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the  cross  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ."  I  prayed  for  an  humble  tender  heart,  that  I 
might  not  say  a  hard  or  unbecoming  word  that  day.  The  Lord 
answered  my  prayer  and  I  preached  with  gr'eat  liberty  and  power, 
and  had  the  satisfaction  to  see  some  tears  in  the  eyes  of  the 
dancers.  Only  one  hlack-leg  tried  to  laugh  and  excite  vanity. 
The  young  lady  who  had  accompanied  him  and  sat  by  his  side, 
showed  him  by  her  looks  that  his  conduct  was  not  satisfactory  to 
her  and  he  desisted.  On  the  way  out  of  church  she  told  him 
that  he  must  learn  how  to  behave,  if  he  wished  to  accompany  her 
hereafter.  In  a  year  from  that  time  nearly  all  of  that  crowd  were 
converted  and  received  into  the  different  churches.  So  all  went 
right. — s.  R. 

WARNED    OUT    OF    THE    TOWNSHIP. 

Smithville  was  a  part  of  my  charge  when  at  Wooster,  and  find- 
ing it  cheaper  to  live  in  the  little  town  of  Smithville  than  in  Woos- 
ter, I  moved  there.  There  was  great  excitement  about  this  time 
concerning  old  and  new  measures.  When  my  enemies  found  that 
I  had  moved  to  Smithville,  they  laid  a  plan  to  either  get  me  away 
or  disgrace  me.  According  to  a  law  in  that  region,  it  was  the 
privilege  of  persons,  when  any  one  moved  to  the  township,  to  warn 
him  out,  if  there  was  any  danger  that  he  would  become  a  town- 
ship charge.  They  had  to  go  before  a  justice  and  swear  that  they 
believed  such  danger  existed.  Then  the  constable  was  sent  with 
a  written  notice  to  the  person  commanding  him  to  leave.  Well, 
one  poor,  miserable,  old  sinner,  who  hated  me  very  bitterly,  went 
and  took  the  oath  that  there  was  danger  of  R.  becoming  a  town- 
ship charge,  and  lo  !  one  day  the  constable  comes  along  and  noti- 
fies me  to  leave  the  township.  0  !  The  old  sinner  that  made 
this  oath  was  a  German  (ought  to  be)  Reformed,  and  if  no  one  had 
given  any  more  to  support  ministers  than  he  did,  they  would  all 
have  become  township  charges. 

But  I  didn't  go,  and  this  old  sinner  and  others  like  him,  were 
very  much  disappointed.  They  were  ignorant  of  the  law,  and 
thought  I  would  have  to  go,  but  all  that  the  law  intended  was 
that  a  person  so  warned  could  not  afterwards  become  a  charge  to 
the  township,  though  he  might  remain  in  it  and  become  ever  so 
poor. 


608  FIFTY    YEARS    YN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

Thirty-two  years  have  passed  since  then,  and  the  act  stands  on 
the  record  against  me  to  this  to-day.  I  stayed  there  until  it  suited 
me  to  leave,  and  I  have  since  returned  and  lived  there  again,  and 
had  charge  of  my  old  church.  But  when  I  came  back  the  old  sinner 
was  dead  and  had  gone  to  his  reward.  I  hope  he  repented  before 
he  died. — s.  R. 

EXORCISM. 

In  a  manuscript  left  among  the  papers  of  Thomas  Winfield,  a 
deserter  from  the  British  army  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  who 
lived  and  died  in  the  mountain,  near  Wolfsville,  in  Maryland,  I 
read  the  following  : 

In  the  neighborhood  of  Beard's  church,  in  Washington  county, 
there  lived  a  young  man  by  the  name  of  Sullivan.  He  did 
nothing,  had  no  visible  means  of  support,  and  yet  seemed  always 
to  have  money.  He  was  a  stranger  and  refused  to  tell  whence  he 
came.  He  lived  thus  for  a  number  of  years,  when  suddenly  he 
became  very  melancholy.  Finally,  he  went  to  Eev.  Mr.  Hase, 
then  pastor  at  Middletown,  and  told  him  that  he  (Sullivan)  had 
sold  himself  to  the  devil  for  one  dollar.  This  dollar  he  had  spent 
as  often  as  fifty  times  a  day,  and  still  had  it.  But  his  time  was 
nearly  expired  and  the  devil  would  come  to  claim  him  at  a  cer- 
tain time.  Hase  went  for  Schroeder,  then  stationed  some  where 
in  Pennsylvania,  and  a  professed  exorcist,  and  appointed  a  meeting 
at  Beard's  church,  to  which  meeting  Sullivan  was  summoned. 
Services  were  held,  prayers  recited,  and  exorcism  joerformed,  and 
Sullivan  was  received  as  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church.  He 
remained  faithful  to  his  vows  of  confirmation,  went  to  work,  and 
is  now  highly  spoken  of  by  old  people  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Beard's  church. — D.  H.  B. 

JOHN    GEORGE    BUTLER. 

John  George  Butler  was  one  of  the  early  pioneers  of  our  church 
in  Western  Maryland.  He  removed  to  Cumberland  in  1805,  and 
died  in  1816,  aged  sixty-three.  The  following  picture  of  frontier 
ministerial  life  is  taken  from  a  letter  written  by  him  in  1811,  and 
published  in  the  Evangelishes  Migazin.  It  will  give  some  idea 
of  the  extent  and  success  of  his  labors  and  the  fervor  of  his 
spirit : 

"  It  will  be  six  years  next  October  since  I  came  to  live  here.  I 
serve  at  present  eight  congregations.     Of  these,  one  is  forty-seven 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  609 

and  the  other  sixty  miles  from  my  home.  I  receive  from  all  these 
churches  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  I  was  requested, 
in  August,  1807,  to  hold  divine  service  some  miles  from  my  place 
of  residence.  "With  the  consent  of  my  principal  congregation,  I 
set  out  upon  my  journey.  I  was  absent  six  weeks,  traveling  and 
preaching.  And  blessed  be  the  Lord  who  assisted  me  and  crowned 
my  labors  with  his  blessing  to  old  and  young.  I  instructed  a 
number  of  young  persons  in  the  Catechism,  and  the  nearer  the 
close  of  the  course  of  instruction  approached  so  much  the  nearer 
did  God  come  to  us  with  his  blessing,  so  that  very  often  our  hearts 
were  melted  and  one  flood  of  tears  followed  another.  The  Lord 
moved  my  heart  and  tongue,  and  gave  me  grace  to  speak  so  as 
never  before.  On,  Friday  previous  to  communion,  whilst  I 
preached  in  the  forenoon  with  great  freedom,  from  the  words, 
'  Blessed  are  they  who  do  hunger  and  thirst  after  righteousness, 
for  they  shall  be  filled,'  God  approached  as  in  a  special  manner, 
and  several  of  my  hearers  were  powerfully  affected ;  and  towards 
the  close  of  this  afternoon's  instruction,  the  King  of  Glory  came 
to  us  and  wrought  a  powerful  awakening.  In  short,  the  following 
three  days  were  blessed  days,  during  which,  in  the  hearts  of  the 
aged  and  the  young,  the  Lord  kindled  a  fire  that  burns  still  to 
the  praise  of  his  name.  In  October,  1809,  I  was  called  to  a  place 
sixty  miles  from  this,  to  instruct  children,  on  Tuesday  previous  to 
the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  supper.  God  came  especially  near 
to  us.  I  thought  I  could  perceive  that  some  of  the  children 
would  like  to  speak  to  me  alone,  if  fear  did  not  prevent  them. 
Hence,  I  exhorted  them  that,  if  they  desired  to  disclose  to  me  any 
thing  resting  upon  their  hearts  and  consciences,  they  should  not 
fear  at  all,  or  be  ashamed  to  do  so,  but  should  be  free  and  open- 
hearted  towards  me.  This  evening  I  went  home  with  six  of  the 
catechumens.  After  supper  one  of  them  came  to  me  and  said, 
'  Sir,  I  wish  to  speak  to  you  alone.'  I  went,  and  found  the  young 
person  awakened  and  deeply  wounded  in  heart.  So  soon  as  the 
rest  saw  this,  a  divine  arrow  seemed  to  penetrate  the  hearts  of 
them  all.  I  found  one  of  them  to  be  in  the  deepest  anguish  on 
account  of  his  sins.  I  pointed  him  directly  to  Jesus,  the  friend  of 
sinners.  He  desired  me  to  pray  for  him.  I  called  together  the 
other  catechumens  and  prayed,  but  in  a  very  few  moments  I  could 
not  hear  my  own  voice  by  reason  of  their  weeping  and  crying  for 
grace  and  mercy.  I  arose  and  permitted  them  and  our  blessed 
God  to  treat  with  each  other  alone.     They  prayed  in  one  strain 


610  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

for  a  whole  hour,  and  one  of  the  children  prayed  two  hours,  when 
all  its  strength  was  exhausted.  In  short,  God  did  here  begin  a 
work,  such  as  I  cannot  and  shall  not  attempt  to  describe.  *  * 
*****  Qj^  ^3i^g  last  Sabbath  in  October,  1808,  I  held  a 
general  meeting  of  all  the  catechumens  from  all  my  congregations. 
At  this  meeting  the  Lord  kindled  a  holy  fire,  which  he  has  also 
carried  to  other  neighborhoods,  and  which  continues  to  burn. 
Again,  on  the  last  Sabbath  of  August,  1810,  I  held  in  town  a  gen- 
eral meeting  of  the- catechumens.  The  meeting  continued  three 
days.  We  saw  here  wonderful  displays  of  the  grace  of  God." — 
Spragues  Annals,  74, 

In  visiting  a  neighborhood  remote  from  his  own  residence,  he 
usually  remained  from  four  to  eight  weeks,  holding  a  protracted 
meeting,  preaching  and  catechizing  the  youth  daily,  visiting  the 
people  from  house  to  house  and  praying  with  them.  *  *  *  * 
These  visits  were  almost  always  followed  by  extensive  awakening. 
Before  leaving  such  a  neighborhood,  it  was  his  custom  to  preach  a 
farewell  sermon  at  a  school  house,  or  some  other  convenient  place. 

*  *  *  At  the  close  of  the  service,  he  would  call  upon  ail  to 
unite  with  him  in  a  farewell  hymn ;  while  the  first  verse  was  be- 
ing sung,  the  fathers  would  come  forward,  one  after  the  other, 
and  give  him  the  parting  hand.  They  would  pass  out  of  the 
house,  (generally  weeping  as  they  went.  The  mothers  did  the 
same,  while  the  next  verse  was  being  sung.  Then  those  whom  he 
had  confirmed ;  then  all  the  rest.  Then  in  front  of  the  house  all 
arranged  themselves  in  a  circle — he  taking  his  place  in  the  centre 
— and  thus  they  sang  the  remaining  verses.  After  that,  in  imita- 
tion of  Paul  with  the  Ephesian  elders,  he  kneeled  with  them  all 
upon  the  ground,  and  spreading  his  hands  to  heaven,  he  prayed. 
Then  followed  the  doxology  and  benediction.  And  now,  in  an  in- 
stant, he  was  upon  his  horse  and  away  he  went,  perhaps  to  return 
no  more.  The  impression  made  by  such  a  scene  was  overpower- 
ing— Focht:  Spragues  Annals,  75. 


The  effect  of  his  reproofs  was  sometimes  wonderful — almost  in.- 
credible.  After  he  had  preached  on  a  certain  occasion,  in  a  smaU 
mill,  he  heard  a  young  man,  who  was  present,  say  that  he 
would  not  forgive  some  person  who  had  offended  him.  Mr.  Butler 
went  instantly  to  him,  took  him  by  the  hand  and  told  him,  with 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  Gil 

tears,  that  if  he  could  not  forgive  the  person  who  had  injured  him, 
neither  could  he  hope  to  be  forgiven  by  God,  and  that  if  he  con- 
tinued to  indulge  that  spirit,  his  soul  must  inevitably  be  lost.  The 
young  man  was  at  once  overwhelmed  with  a  conviction  of  his 
guilt  and  fell  prostrate  in  the  open  road,  and  cried  aloud  for  mercy. 
Mr.  B.  knelt  by  his  side  and  praved  for  him.  The  young  man 
then  exclaimed,  in  the  bitterness  of  his  soul,  "I  will  forgive — I 
will  cheerfully  forgive— but  what  shall  I  do  ?  Will  my  Lord  for- 
give me,  a  poor,  helpless  sinner  ?"  "  0,  yes  !"  .said  Mr.  B.,  "  if  you 
truly  hate  and  forsake  all  your  sins  and  believe  in  Jesus  with  all 
your  heart,  God  will  freely  forgive  you  for  Christ's  sake."  That 
young  man  found  peace  in  believing,  and,  after  he  had  reached 
old  age,  he  was  accustomed  to  say,  that  no  one  had  done  so  much 
for  him,  or  was  so  dear  to  him,  as  the  man  who  had  reproved  him 
for  an  unforgiving  spirit. — Ihid,  76. 


On  a  certain  occasion  Mr.  Butler  was  attending  a  prayer-meet- 
ing at  the  house  of  a  widow,  and,  while  he  was  speaking  with, 
great  energy  and  unction,  and  with  visible  effect  upon  the  minds 
of  many  present,  the  eldest  son  of  the  family,  unable  to  restrain 
his  rage,  was  just  about  to  lay  hands  on  him  and  thrust  him  out 
of  the  house.  At  that  moment  the  mother  rushed  between  her 
son  and  Mr.  Butler,  and,  falling  upon  her  knees,  cried  out,  "  Ob, 
do  not  put  the  preacher  out  until  he  has  told  me  what  I  must  do 
to  be  saved." 

JOHN    CHRISTOPHER    IIARTWIG. 

He  was  one  of  the  most  eccentric  of  men  ;  and  in  nothing  did 
his  eccentricity  discover  itself  more  strikingly  than  in  his  great 
aversion  to  the  female  sex.  He  seems  to  have  had  just  as  little 
interest  in  women  as  was  consistent  with  the  belief  that  they  are 
rational  and  immortal  beings.  Mr.  Davidson,  a  highly  respecta- 
ble man,  who  lived  on  the  tract  of  land,  which  he,  Mr.  Hartwig, 
with  other  corporators,  had,  with  the  consent  of  the  Colonial  Gov- 
ernment, purchased  from  the  Indians,  gave  me  an  amusing  account 
of  a  visit  which  he  received  from  him,  while  that  part  of  the 
country  had  only  begun  to  be  inhabited.  He  said  he  was  then  a 
young  man,  and  he  and  his  wife  occupied  a  log  hut,  in  which  there 
was  only  one  bed-room  and  one  bed.  Their  only  sleeping  accom- 
modations they  very  cheerfully  gave  up  to   their  clerical  guest 


612  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

and  stretched  themselves  out  on  the  floor  before  the  kitchen  fire. 
In  the  course  of  the  night  Mrs.  J),  awoke  and  found  that  the 
weather  liad  become  much  colder,  and  it  instantly  occurred  to  her 
that  the  occupant  of  her  bed  might  not  have  sufficient  clothing 
over  him  to  render  him  comfortable.  Her  concern  for  his  comfort 
led  her  to  get  up  and  go  silently  into  his  room  and  spread  upon 
his  bed  a  part  of  her  own  very  simple  wardrobe.  But  such  a 
thing  was  not  to  be  done  by  a  woman,  and  yet  escape  the  ob.^er- 
vation  of  such  a  woman-hater.  No  sooner  had  the  offence  been 
committed,  than  her  guest  arose,  dressed  himself,  made  his  way 
out  of  the  house  to  the  stable,  saddled  his  horse  and  rode  off.  It 
was  not  an  uncommon  thing  for  him,  if  he  saw  that  he  was  about 
to  meet  a  woman  in  the  street,  to  cross  over  in  order  to  avoid  her. 
It  is  said,  that  on  one  occasion,  when  he  was  disturbed  in  preach- 
ing by  the  presence  of  a  dog,  he  exclaimed,  with  a  good  deal  of 
earnestness,  "  That  they  had  better  keep  their  dogs  and  children 
at  home,  and  it  would  not  be  much  matter  if  they  kept  their 
women  there  too." 

All  tradition  concurs  in  representing  him  as  very  slovenly  in 
his  habits  (often  preaching  in  his  blanket  coat  and  not  always  with 
the  cleanest  linen),  eccentric  in  his  manners,  curt,  and,  at  times, 
irritable  in  his  intercourse  with  others,  and  an  exceedingly  un- 
desirable inmate  of  the  social  and  domestic  circle.  So  much  was 
this  the  case  that  those  who  occasionally  entertained  him  did  not 
hesitate  to  prescribe  limits  to  his  visits  and  to  tell  him  plainly, 
"  You  may  stay  here  so  many  days  and  then  you  must  go." — 
Pohlman :  Sj^ragties  Annals,  32. 

PRESENTIMENT    OF    DEATH. 

Rev.  Mr.  Hartwig  lived  to  green  old  age,  yet  his  faculties  re- 
mained unimpaired.  He  was  venerable  in  years,  and,  like  a  shock 
of  corn,  fully  ripe  for  the  sickle.  *  *  *  *  His  departure 
took  place  in  1796,  on  the  day  he  completed  the  eightieth  year  of 
his  age.  The  manner  of  his  death  was  singular,  and  furnishes  a 
remarkable  instance  of  the  power  of  imagination  over  the  mind. 
Forty  years  before  his  death,  the  impression  of  a  dream  on  his 
birth-day,  that  he  would  just  live  forty  years  longer,  had  become 
so  strong  that  he  felt  persuaded  the  dream  would  be  fulfilled  and 
his  life  would  be  protracted  to  the  close  of  his  eightieth  year.  As 
the  period  fixed  upon  in  his  mind  approached,  all  doubt  respecting 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  G13 

the  certainty  of  the  time  was  dispelled.  On  the  day  preceding 
the  completion  of  his  eightieth  year,  he  came  to  the  residence  of 
Hon.  J.  R.  Livingston,  his  intimate  friend,  *  *  *  and  an- 
nounced that  he  had  come  to  die  at  his  house.  He  appeared  to 
be  in  full  possession  of  health,  entered  freely  into  religious  con- 
versation with  the  family,  and  in  the  evening  conducted  the  de- 
votional exercises  of  the  house.  The  next  morning  he  left  his  bed 
in  apparent  health,  breakfasted  and  engaged  in  conversation  with 
the  family  until  the  approach  of  the  hour  his  imagination  had 
fixed  upon  as  the  moment  of  his  departure.  This  was  eleven 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  A  few  minutes  before  the  time,  he  re- 
quested permission  to  retire  to  rest.  Mr.  Livingston,  unobserved, 
followed  him  to  the  room  and  noticed  that  he  was  undressing. 
Just  as  the  clock  struck  the  hour,  he  was  in  the  act  of  removing 
the  stock  from  his  neck ;  at  that  moment  he  fell  back  on  his  bed 
and  expired. — Evangelical  Review,  vii,  171. 

THE   EFFECT   WHICH   THE   READING  OF   LUTHER   ON    THE   GALA- 
TIANS   PRODUCED    IN    HANOVER   COUNTY,    VA.,    AMONG 
ENGLISH   SETTLERS   IN   1742, 

We  now  carry  our  indulgent  readers  to  Virginia,  where  we  will 
meet  with  an  interesting  circumstance,  which,  though  having  oc- 
curred more  than  a  century  ago,  will,  no  doubt,  be  as  new  and 
fresh  to  many  in  our  church  as  it  was  to  the  writer  when  he  first 
met  with  it  in  one  of  the  volumes  of  the  Library  of  the  University 
of  North  Carolina,  at  Chapel  Hill. 

We  will  find  it  faithfully  and  graphically  described  in  Howison's 
History  of  Virginia,  Vol.  II,  p.  174,  et  sqq.,  which  we  will  copy. 

"  In  the  county  of  Hanover,  about  the  same  time  (1742),  lived 
Samuel  Morris,  a  planter  possessed  of  wealth  and  influence.  It 
is  remarkable  that  his  mind  was  directed  to  religion,  not  by  the 
accustomed  agency  of  preaching,  but  by  reading  the  works  of  men 
who  had  made  the  Scriptures  their  practical  study. 

"  An  old  copy  of  Luther  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  fell  into 
his  hands.  He  read,  pondered  and  felt.  This  short  Epistle  fur- 
nished to  the  great  reformer  all  the  weapons  he  needed  to  cut 
Popery  to  the  heart.  Justification  by  faith  alone,  and  a  holy  life 
to  prove  that  faith,  are  its  prominent  doctrines.  Morris  believed, 
and  hastened  to  impart  to  others  the  means  of  his  own  happiness. 

"  His  friends  were  assembled,  and  he  began  to  read  to  them  the 
39 


614  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAJS    MINISTRY. 

mucli  prized  volume  they  had  heard  again  and  again  with  interest 
and  pleasure.  Gradually  their  numbers  swelled  ;  other  books  were 
introduced  ;  the  thoughts  of  old  John  Bunyan  became  familiar,  and, 
in  1743,  a  copy  of  Whitefield's  sermons  fell  into  their  possession. 

"  Mr.  Morris  caused  to  be  erected  a  '  reading  house  '  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  the  hearers,  and  this  was  filled  to  overflowing 
on  every  Sabbath.  He  never  attempted  to  preach,  or  to  exhort, 
or  to  introduce  prayer  or  any  regular  worship  ;  he  did  nothing 
but  read;  yet  the  word  of  God,  explained  by  consecrated  minds, 
kindled  in  the  hearers  a  flame  of  which  they  had  known  nothing 
heretofore.  The  interest  thus  excited  became  so  general  that  the 
friends  of  the  church  felt  alarm.  Morris  and  his  principal  ad- 
herents were  summoned  before  the  Court  of  Magistrates  to  answer 
for  the  crime  of  absenting  themselves  from  the  regular  services. 
They  were  asked  to  what  denomination  they  belonged.  Here  was 
a  difficulty,  they  were  anything  but  churchmen  ;  they  were  not 
Quakers;  they  were  not  Baptists;  they  knew  nothing  of  Presby- 
terians. Suddenly  a  bright  thought  flashed  upon  them.  Know- 
ing that  Luther  was  a  great  reformer,  and  remembering  their  obli- 
gations to  him,  they  declared  that  they  were  Lutherans.  The 
Magistrates  were  puzzled ;  they  could  find  no  laws  against  such  a 
sect,  and  the  men  were  accordingly  dismissed  without  punishment. 
But,  persecution  was  not  thus  easily  satisfied  ;  finding  that  their 
meetings  were  continued,  informers  again  brought  them  before  the 
court ;  fines  were  inflicted  and  greater  rigor  threatened.  Mr. 
Morris  himself  paid  more  than  twenty  fines  under  the  systematic 
opposition  to  which  he  was  exposed." 

Still  their  march  was  onward.  In  1743  a  member  of  one  of 
the  Augusta  congregations  crossed  the  Blue  Ridge  to  barter  his 
grain  for  iron  and  salt.  Meeting  with  some  of  Morris's  hearers, 
he  conversed  with  them,  and  was  astonished  to  find  that  their 
views  of  religion  coincided  with  his  own.  He  advised  them  to 
send  to  the  valley  and  invite  a  minister  whom  he  had  left  there, 
to  come  and  preach  to  them.  This  was  the  Rev.  Wm.  Robinson, 
an  Evangelist,  ordained  by  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick, 
and  a  man  to  whom  the  Presbyterians  of  Virginia  owe  a  heavy 
debt  of  love.  Embarrassments,  caused  by  youthful  indiscretion, 
had  driven  him  from  England,  but,  soon  after  coming  to 
America,  he  professed  himself  a  christian,  and  devoting  his  life  to 
the  ministry,  he  carried  into  his  sacred  duties  the  ardor  which  had 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN   MINISTRY.  615 

distinguished  him  in  tlie  pursuit  of  vicious  pleasures.  He  obeyed 
the  call  of  Mr.  Morris,  and,  coming  to  Hanover,  preached  his 
first  sermon  on  the  6th  of  July.  The  people  attended  in  crowds, 
and  recognizing  from  his  lips  the  same  doctrines  which  they  had 
long  heard  from  the  books  read  by  Mr.  Morris,  they  received  him 
with  open  arms.  Deep  seriousness  prevailed  at  their  meetings, 
and  gradually  an  interest  was  awakened,  such  as  men  feel  when 
they  begin  to  compare  sin  with  holiness,  and  time  with  eternity. 
The  lives  of  many  were  changed ;  regular  congregations  were 
formed  ;  proper  modes  of  worship  were  introduced  ;  the  people 
took  the  name  of  Presbyterians  and  formed  a  connection  with  the 
Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick,  whose  ministers  w^ere  then  a  part 
of  the  Synod  of  New  York. — b. 


Rev.  C.  is  a  wit,  and  sometimes  carries  his  fun  too  far.  But  I 
want  to  tell  you  of  a  trial  of  it,  having  a  practical  end  in  view. 
Going  from  B.  to  C,  to  meet  an  appointment,  on  foot,  and  becom- 
ing wearied,  he  descried  ahead  on  the  railroad  a  company  of 
Irish  track-hands  with  a  hand-car.  A  happy  idea  led  him  to 
think  of  riding  with  them.  Approaching,  he  sat  down,  and  en- 
tered into  conversation.  As  they  gathered  up  their  tools,  one  of 
them  asked  what  business  he  was  engaged  in.  He  promptly  re- 
plied, "  I'm  a  fortune-teller y  He  was  asked  his  price  to  tell  the 
fortunes  of  the  six.  "  Let  me  ride  to  C.  with  you,  and  I'll  do  it," 
he  answered.  They  agreed,  and  were  placed  in  a  row,  laughing 
at  the  prospect  of  fun,  while  he  drew  forth  a  book ;  then  read  the 
words:  ''  Excejjt  ye  he  converted,  ye  shall  all  likewise  perish." 
They  agreed  that  "the  praist "  was  too  much  for  even  Irishmen, 
and  with  many  bursts  of  laughter  paid  the  fee  demanded,  and 
the  parson  got  the  ride. 

Rev.  Mr.  W.,  who  ministered  to  a  Lutheran  congregation  in  a 
mountain  village,  although  a  very  good  man,  spent  much  of  his 
time  about  the  stores  and  shops  in  familiar  gossip  with  the  people 
who  congregated  there. 

One  Monday  morning  he  w-as  lounging  in  a  saddler's  shop,  when 
the  proprietor  of  the -establishment  called  his  attention  to  a 
woman  on  the  street  who  was  selling  blackberries.  "  You  had 
better  go  and  buy  them,"  he  said ;  they  are  doubtless  very  fine, 
and,  besides,  may  be  set  down  as  Luthera?i  blackberries."     This 


616  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

ap2:)eal  to  the  brother's  denominational  feelings  prompted  him  to 
go  and  make  the  purchase.  He  pronounced  them  very  good  ;  but 
he  asked,  "Why  do  you  think  they  are  LutJienm  berries?  The 
woman  does  not  know  anything  about  Luther,  nor  does  she  belong 
to  our  church." 

"  Oh,"  replied  the  saddler,  "  you  see,  they  are  brought  here  on 
Monday  morning,  and,  as  they  were  probably  picked  on  Sunday, 
I  judged  them  to  be  Lutheran  berries." 

"  There  now,"  said  an  eminent  Lutheran  divine,  when  he  heard 
this  ;  "  see  what  a  propensity  the  world  has  to  charge  our  Saviour 
and  the  Lutherans  with  breaking  the  Sabbath." 


A  prominent  man  having  been  disciplined  for  irregular  conduct, 
went  with  his  whole  family  to  the  Lutheran  church.  When  Dr. 
C,  the  pastor,  asked  one  of  the  bright-eyed  daughters,  "  Why  are 
you  a  Lutheran?"  she  quickly  replied:  "Because  Mr.  D.  was 
going  to  put  pap  out  of  the  meeting." 


Years  ago  when  I  lived  in ,  I  was  called  upon  to  preach 

the  funeral  sermon  of  an  old  lady,  in  a  school-house.  It  was  in 
the  summer,  in  the  afternoon,  and,  as  she  was  much  beloved  in 
the  community,  the  house  was  filled,  and  many  were  standing 
around  the  windows  and  door.  I  had  been  exceedingly  annoyed 
during  the  introductory  exercises,  by  a  young  man  standing  at  one 
of  the  windows,  when,  in  the  midst  of  the  singing  of  the  hymn, 
just  before  the  sermon,  I  stopped  and  said,  without  weighing  my 
words,  "  If  that  young  man,  with  the  red  head  and  yellow  coat, 
standing  at  the  window,  don't  stop  his  talking,  I'll  be  apt  to  point 
him  out  to  the  congregation." 

The  fellow  stretched  open  his  eyes,  ran  out  his  tongue,  and  I 
never  saw  him  again. — s.  R. 

It  is  said  that  some  ministers  are  fond  of  showing  off  their 
Latin  and  Greek,  by  sometimes  finding  fault  with  our  good,  old 
translation  of  the  Bible.  I  have  always  thought  the  effect  was 
bad  upon  a  plain  congregation,  besides  the  contempt  v,'hich  sen- 
sible people  feel  for  such  ridiculous  displays.  If  men  will  exhibit 
themselves  in  this  way,  let  them  do  it  in  the  style  of  a  certain 
minister,  who  was  once  preaching  upon  the  parable  of  the  Ten 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  617 

Virgins.  He  told  his  hearers  that  the  word  lamin  was  an  incor- 
rect translation,  and  said,  "  The  original  Hchrew  word  is  fam-hcaux, 
and  should  have  been  translated  torches!"  This  is  just  about  as 
wise  and  edifying  as  many  other  pulpit  criticisms  we  sometimes 
hear. — s.  R. 


It  is  not  always  safe  to  preach  other  men's  sermons,  if  you  care 
anything  about  being  detected.  I  could  tell  some  very  interest- 
ing facts  concerning  this  matter,  and  so  could  some  other  men  I 
know.  Sometimes  a  man  is  compelled  to  acknowledge  his  delin- 
quency, as  the  following  fact  will  illustrate,  and  which  was  told 
me  by  the  very  minister  concerned.  He  narrated  it  as  a  good 
joke,  and  such  it  really  is : 

"Upon  descending  from  the  pulpit  one  day,  he  was  warmly 
complimented  by  oae  of  his  church  officers  upon  a  particular 
passage,  part  of  which  he  repeated.  The  minister  candidly  ob- 
served, '  Well,  brother,  I  will  not  take  any  credit  for  that  passage, 
for  it  is  an  extract  from  Chalmers.'  '  Ah,  indeed  ' — rejoined  the 
other,  '  Then  I  wish  the  whole  sermon  had  been  from  Chalmers  !'  " 


There  was  once  a  trial  between  Luther  and  some  of  his  friends  who 
could  say  the  shortest  grace  at  table.  The  award  was  given  to 
Melanchthon,  who  proposed,  "  £inedicius  benedicat,''  (may  the 
blessed  one,  bless,)  which  is  short  and  sweet. 


Some  of  our  men  are  occasionally  given  to  innocent  mirth. 
One  of  them  writes  me  the  following :  "  I  was  traveling  to  a 
clerical  meeting  with  Brother  Peter,  as  I  will  here  call  him.  As 
we  were  descending  a  hill,  he  said  to  me,  '  Brother,  do  you  think 
there  can  be  such  a  thing  as  lijivg  faith,  and  yet  the  man  a  liar, 
drunkard,  and  blasphemer.'  I  at  once  replied,  no !  'Be  not  so 
sure,  he  rejoined,  for  I  have  the  demonstration  before  me.  Do 
you  see  that  man  ploughing  in  the  field  before  us? — well,  that 
man  is  guilty  of  all  these  sins,  his  name  is  Faith,  and  you  will 
admit  he  is  living  Faith.'  I  gave  it  up  and  said,  '  Brother  Peter, 
if  I  had  broken  every  law  in  the  decalogue,  I  could  yet  say,  I 
never  fell  from  grace  !  and  I  have  the  demonstration  before  me. 
My  mare's  name  is  Grace,  and  I  never  fell  from  her  T  "  "True, 
true,  he  exclaimed,  we  are  now  even,  and  we'll  quit  joking  while 


618  FIFTY   YEARS     IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

descending  this  abrupt  hill."  "  A  few  months  afterward,  whilst 
riding  over  a  road  as  level  as  a  floor,  my  mare  stumbled  and 
pitched  me  over  her  head,  and  I  fell  from  Grace." 

SOME   BLUNDERS. 

About  sixteen  years  ago  a  timid  young  minister  occupied  my 
pulpit.  His  sermon  proceeded  very  acceptably  until  the  perora- 
tion was  reached,  when  the  speaker  warmed  up  and  his  words 
flowed  more  rapidly.  Then  came  the  solemn  reminder:  "The 
christian  must  be  like  a  city  set  on  a  candlestick."  I  sat  behind 
him  in  an  open  pulpit.  What  passed  after  that  expression  to  the 
end  of  the  sermon,  I  can  hardly  tell.  Yet,  strange  to  say,  there 
were  probably  only  two  other  persons  in  the  house  who  noticed 
the  blunder. 


Twenty-five  years  in  the  past  I  was  a  student  of  Theology  at 
G.  One  Wednesday  evening  we  assembled  at  our  weekly  devo- 
tional lecture  in  the  chapel  of  the  church  in  town.  A  preacher 
from  the  State  of  New  York  had  happened  along,  and  was  im- 
pressed into  service.  In  tone  and  manner  he  proved  himself  not 
a  little  stilty  and  pompous,  at  least  to  students  who  are  trained 
into  the  art  of  criticism.  The  speaker  seemed  to  have  laid  him- 
self out  for  a  special  effort  to  impress  the  prospective  preachers. 
He  grew  fervent,  then  poetic.  Snatches  of  hymns  were  called 
into  use,  when  a  quotation  from  Cowper,  on  this  wise : 

"There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood. 
Drawn  from  Immanuel's  veins; 
And  sinners  plung-ed  beneath  that  ttood. 
Lose  all  their  g'uilty  souls." 


It  is  now  more  than  a  dozen  years  since,  when  many  of  our 
ministers  were  assembled  in  Synod,  in  a  pleasant  borough  on  the 
Susquehanna.  It  was  at  the  time  when  there  was  much  excite- 
ment and  wise  speculation  concerning  the  reported  use  of  Greek 
fire  as  a  destructive  agent  in  the  harbor  of  Charleston.  There 
was  introduced  into  the  Synod  a  subject  that  called  forth  consid- 
erable animated  discussion.  One  brother,  who  was  particularly 
watchful  against  all  temptation,  began  to  fear  that  possibly  harm 
might  come  to  the  tempers  of  some  of  the  speakers.  He,  for  some 
time,  refrained  from  uttering  a  word,  but,  by  and  by,  when  he 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  619 

could  justify  his  silence  no  longer,  he  hurriedly  rose  and  called 
out,  in  substance,  "  Brethren,  let  me  implore  you  speedily  to  dis- 
pose of  this  question,  as  it  would  be  very  disastrous  to  have  fire 
hurled  into  the  midst  of  us."  He  had  scarcely  closed  his  first 
sentence  when  a  voice  called  out,  "  What  sort  of  fire  ?"  Instantly 
a  cry  came  from  another  part  of  the  house,  in  a  sharp  falsetto, 
"Greek  fire!"  In  a  twinkling  we  witnessed  about  as  much  of  a 
bustle  in  that  chamber  as  if  the  veritable  article  had  been  magi- 
cally introduced. 

PASTORAL    EXPERIENCE. 

Every  minister  of  long  standing  will  be  able  to  give  many  and 
varied  experiences,  some  peculiar,  so  much  so  that  they  cannot 
very  well  be  produced  on  paper  without  losing  much  of  their 
point  and  pith.  The  one  which  I  now  propose  to  give  is  of  this 
character. 

Whilst  pastor  of  in  Pennsylvania,  I  was  called  on  in 

turn  to  preach  to  a  vacant  congregation,  situated  in  one  of  the 
many  little  valleys  lying  between  short  ranges  of  mountains,  some 
miles  distant  from  any  railroad,  or  from  any  of  the  large  towns  in 
the  State.  Such-  being  the  location  of  the  church,  I  found  the 
people  comparatively  free  from  many  of  the  follies,  as  well  as  many 
of  the  vices,  so  prevalent  in  the  more  populous  and  fashionable 
portions  of  the  country. 

On  Sunday  morning,  at  ten  o'clock,  I  reached  the  house  of 
worship,  which  was  one  of  those  old  time  log  houses,  two  stories 
high,  nearly  square,  with  a  high  gallery  on  three  sides,  and,  I  was 
going  to  say,  a  higher  pulpit,  of  the  old  time  wineglass  pattern, 
perched  on  a  pillar  some  eight  feet  high,  and,  when  seated  on  the 
little  bench  inside,  I  could  not  see  over  the  top  so  as  to  have  a 
view  of  the  congregation  below;  I  could  see  only  those  in  the 
gallery. 

The  time  came  for  opening  service,  which  I  did  in  the  usual 
way,  and  nothing  to  attract  my  attention  particularly,  until  the 
singing  of  the  first  hymn  commenced. 

There  were  neither  organ  nor  choir  in  the  church,  but  there 
was  a  leader  in  singing,  not  so  soon  to  be  forgotten,  at  least  by 
any  stranger  happening  into  that  church. 

Well,  I  gave  out  the  hymn  and  took  my  seat  in  the  pulpit,  and 
waited  for  the  singing,  whereupon  the  said  leader,  after  clearing  his 
throat  several  times,  and  after  sundry  soundings  on  the  tuning 


620  FIFTY    YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

fork,  pitched  the  tune,  and  away  went  the  singing  in  real  congre- 
gational style.  At  the  end  of  the  first  stanza  my  ears  Avere 
startled  by  hearing  an  organ  interlude,  and  yet  I  knew  there  was 
no  organ  there;  how  or  what  could  it  be?  To  satisfy  myself  I 
peeped  out  from  behind  my  tall  pulpit,  and  what  should  I  see  and 
hear  but  our  leader  standing  with  his  back  against  one  of  the 
gallery  posts,  his  head  thrown  back,  his  eyes  closed,  and  his 
mouth  wide  open  trying  to  imitate  an  organ !  1 


Some  years  ago,  Avhen  the  question  of  disposing  of  the  emanci- 
pated slaves  was  agitating  the  country,  I  had  a  regular  hearer  in 
my  church  who  was  not  a  member.  One  Sunday  I  preached  on 
the  conversion  of  the  Eunuch,  and  happened  to  remark  that  he 
was  a  colored  man,  and  yet  that  the  Spirit  and  Philip  thought  he 
had  a  soul  to  save  as  well  as  white  men. 

My  hearer  absented  himself  from  church  from  that  day,  and 
sometime  after  I  heard  that  he  was  grievously  offended  at  me  for 
preaching  politics  ! 

I  happened  to  meet  him  one  day  in  the  street,  and  plainly  re- 
buked him  for  neglecting  church,  and  challenged  him  for  proof 
that  I  had  preached  what  he  called  politics  ! 

He  replied,  "  You  said  that  fellow  you  were  preaching  about 
was  a  nigger,  and  you  hnow  our  party  cant  stand  the  nigger  /"  I 
burst  out  into  an  uncontrollable  iit  of  laughter,  not  unmingled 
with  pity  for  his  stupidity,  and  left  him  after  observing,  "  Sir,  the 
time  is  not  far  off  when  you  as  well  as  the  other  party  will  court 
the  nigger  vote  !"  which  really  happened  sooner  than  I  expected. 


All  the  following  anecdotes  refer  to  that  very  remarkable  and 
godly  man.  Rev.  F.  D.  Wyneken,  of  the  Missouri  Synod,  who  died 
a  year  or  two  ago  in  San  Francisco,  whither  he  had  gone  on  a 
visit  to  his  son-in-law,  Rev.  Mr.  Buehler. 

These  anecdotes  are  taken  from  an  admirable  biographical 
sketch  of  AVyneken,  by  Prof.  Lindeman,  in  the  Almanac  of  the 
Missouri  Synod  for  1877. 

The  firmness  of  Wyneken's  faith  at  that  time,  and  the  determi- 
nation with  which  he  confessed  it,  appeared  in  his  exemplary  con- 
duct at  an  examination  of  candidates  that  he  attended  shortly 
before  his  departure  to  America. 


FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE   LUTUEKAN    MINISTRY.  621 

The  unbelieving,  Consistorial  Court  OfBcer,  ^M.,  to  whom  Wyne- 
ken's  decided  christian  character  was  well  known,  had  selected 
the  doctrine  of  miracles  with  the  intention  of  sounding  the  sta- 
bility of  his  faith  and  perjjlexing  his  mind.  He  opened  the  ex- 
amination somewhat  as  follows  :  "  Evidently  miracles  do  not  occur 
now.  The  only  question  therefore  is,  whether  miracles  really 
did  occur  in  former  times."  Thereupon  he  put  the  question  to 
Wyneken  :  "  What  do  you  say  to  this?" 

Without  hesitation  he  replied,  "  God  is  a  God  whose  miraculous 
works  are  of  daily  occurrence,  and  I  am  surprised  that  you,  sir 
of  the  Consistorial  Court,  deny  this." 

Astonished  at  such  an  answer,  M.  proceeded  :  "  But  you  cer- 
tainly know  what  Spinoza  has  written  on  this  subject?" 

With  cheerful  good  humor,  but  decided  firmness,  Wyneken  re- 
plied :  "  Well,  but  what  have  you  and  I  to  do  with  the  philoso- 
phical speculations  of  this  Atheistic  Jew?  The  Scriptures,  the 
Scriptures,  my  dear  sir,  are  our  rule  ! !" 

This  high  spiritual  dignitary  had  never  before  met  with  such 
courage,  for  all  other  candidates,  who  had  appeared  before  him, 
were  much  more  inclined  to  tremble  than  to  contradict  him.  He 
hurriedly  rose  from  his  chair  and  appealed  to  a  mass  of  seeming 
proof,  by  which  he  expected  to  justify  his  position. 

When  Wyneken  found  opportunity  to  speak  again,  he  also  was 
carried  aw'ay  with  excitement,  and,  likewise  springing  to  his  feet, 
refuted  in  terms  of  eloquence  all  that  the  examiner  had  adduced. 

So  the  examination  was  changed  into  a  discussion,  to  the  im- 
mense astonishment  of  the  gentlemen  at  the  green-table  and  the 
hearers  assembled  in  the  ante-room.  The  most  remarkable  of  all, 
however,  was  tliis,  that  the  modesty,  the  affable  manner,  and  the 
good  humor  of  the  candidate,  that  characterized  his  entire  heroic 
defence,  so  won  the  heart  of  the  examiner,  that  he  openly  com- 
mended him  and  gave  him  a  certificate  of  the  highest  order. 

PASTORAL    FIDELITY. 

One  of  his  catechumens  was  almost  deaf,  and  had  also  a  very 
weak  mind  and  memory.  W.  was,  at  first,  at  a  loss  how  to  treat  her, 
but  he  soon  found  the  right  way.  He  had  her  to  visit  him  during 
the  eatire  winter,  several  times  a  week  at  his  house,  and  shouted 
the  catechism  in  her  ears,  a  little  at  a  time,  until  she  had,  at  last, 
grasped  so  much  of  it,  that  he  could,  with  a  good  conscience,  con- 
firm her. 


622  FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

GETS   A    PAIR   OF   PANTS. 

For  occasions  of  public  worship,  Wyneken  strove  to  keep  on 
hand  a  respectable  black  suit  of  clothes,  which,  however,  usually 
exhibited  numerous  signs  of  increasing  age  and  of  a  life  in  the 
forest.  In  his  travels  he  wore  whatever  he  could  call  his  own, 
regardless  of  its  color  or  style.  During  rainy  and  muddy  weather 
his  dress  was  likely  to  be  something  like  this:  a  felt  hat,  old  and 
full  of  holes,  secured  to  his  head  with  a  red  handkerchief  tied 
over  it ;  his  body  wrapped  in  a  large  cape  overcoat,  of  green  cloth 
or  felt,  and  his  legs  were  encased  in  yellow  trowsers. 

The  yellow  trowsers  were  given  to  him  in  the  neighboring  vil- 
lage of  Decatur.  He  had  entered  the  store  of  a  Catholic,  who 
was  a  drunkard.  The  man  was  occupied  with  measuring  a 
piece  of  yellow  cloth,  so  called  "  English  leather,"  for  a  customer. 
Wyneken,  whose  pantaloons  were  very  much  worn,  was  looking 
on,  perhaps  with  an  expression  indicating  the  thought,  that  such 
a  pair  of  trowsers  would  be  good  for  him  also.  "  Do  you  wish  a 
piece  of  this?"  was  the  unexpected  question  of  the  merchant. 
Wyneken  replied  :  "  No,  I  have  no  money."  "  Well,  how  if  I  give 
you  a  pair?"  "  I  would  not  accept  a  gift  from  you  !"  "  Indeed, 
and  why  not?"  "  Because  my  lips  would  then  be  closed,  so  that 
I  could  not  rebuke  your  drunkenness  !"  "  Indeed  ?  Ha,  ha  !  Is 
that  it  ?  Well,  here  is  the  cloth  ;  take  it,  and  rebuke  me  to  your 
heart's  content !" 

Wyneken  accepted  the  gift  as  a  favor  of  God,  to  whom  he  had 
already  commended  himself  in  his  poverty.  He  took  the  cloth 
home  with  him,  and  had  a  pair  of  pantaloons  made  of  it.  But 
when  his  deacons  saw  this  new  piece  of  wearing  material,  it  sur- 
prised them,  and  they  asked  each  other,  "  Where  in  all  the  world 
did  our  pastor  get  those  yellow  trowsers?"  ("In  aller  Welt,  wo 
hat  den  unser  Pastor  de  gaele  Boexen  her  ?")  They  soon  discovered 
the  truth,  but  were  not  willing  to  let  that  Catholic  drunkard 
enjoy  the  opportunity  of  boasting  that  he  had  given  anything  to 
their  pastor.  They  collected  a  wagon  load  of  corn,  and  one  of  them 
drove  up  before  the  merchant's  house  and  unloaded  it  there.  It 
was  now  his  turn  to  be  surprised.  "What  are  you  doing  here?" 
was  his  question.  "I  have  bought  no  corn  of  you!"  The  man 
replied,  "  This  is  your  pay  for  our  pastor's  pantaloons  !  You,  sir, 
shall  not  say  that  you  are  obliged  to  provide  for  our  pastor !" 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHEKAN    MINISTRY.  (523 

A  man  came  to  him  in  Fort  Wayne,  desiring  permission  to  at- 
tend the  communion.  W.  looked  at  him  sharply  for  a  few  sooonds 
and  said  bluntly,  "  You  cannot  come  to  the  communion."  "  Why 
not?"  inquired  the  man.  "  Because  you  are  a  drunkard,"  was  the 
short  and  decided  reply.  "  What?  I  a  drunkard  !"  exclaimed  the 
man  with  indignation.  "  How  do  you  know  that?  Who  told  you 
that?  I'll  make  it  hot  for  the  shameless  liar !  I  wish  to  know,  sir, 
who  told  you  that!"  "  Well,  I  was  told  so  by  a  man  who  knows 
it  perfectly  well,  and  whom  you  will  not  contradict."  "  Why, 
who  is  that?"  "Come  here,  I'll  show  him  to.you!"  replied  W., 
rising,  seizing  the  man  by  the  hand,  and  leading  him  before  the 
looking-gl  iss.  With  deep  earnestness  he  then  exclaimed,  "  Now, 
just  look  in  there !  That  man,  with  the  bloated  face,  with  the  red 
nose,  the  dripping  eyes,  and  trembling  hands  ;  he  told  me  !  Look 
that  man,  now,  right  square  in  the  face,  and  say,  No  !  if  you  can  !" 
He  then  added  with  deep  emotion,  "  My  dear  friend,  just  think  ; 
you  are  a  creature  of  God;  he  has  created  you  in  his  own  image; 
you  have  been  redeemed  by  the  precious  blood  of  the  Son  of  God  ; 
and  yet  you,  whom  God  has  so  honored  and  valued — you  throw 
yourself  like  a  sow  into  the  mire,  and  wallow  there." 

The  man  turned  pale,  and  with  trembling  confessed  his  sins, 
asking  in  terror  if  there  was  yet  help  for  him — if  he  might  yet 
hope  for  forgiveness.  "  Yes,"  replied  W.,  "  sit  down  ;  there  is  help 
even  for  you."  He  now  preached  to  him  the  grace  of  God  in 
Christ,  and  showed  him  how  to  become  a  partaker  of  it. 

As  the  man  finally  arose  and  started  for  his  home,  W.  called 
after  him,  "  I  almost  forgot ;  you  may  come  to  the  communion  !" 


Another  case  was  that  of  a  man  whom  Wyneken  had,  on  ac- 
count of  his  indecent  behavior,  called  a  "  dirty  hog."  This  pro- 
voked the  man,  and  he  openly  threatened  to  castigate  the  pastor 
for  it.  A  few  days  later  they  met  on  the  street.  "  Well,"  said 
Wyneken,  "  I  am  glad  to  see  you  ;  it  is  your  intention  to  give  me 
a  pounding :  this  would  be  a  good  opportunity  !"  "  Yes,"  said  the 
man  with  some  hesitation,  "  I  will.  You  have  called  me  a  dirty 
hog."  "  Certainly,  I  have  done  so,"  responded  Wyneken,  "  and  I 
must  abide  by  what  I  have  said ;  for  you  are  what  I  have  called 
you  !"  "  What?  No  one  dare  say  that  of  me  !"  replied  the  man, 
whose  anger  was  now  fully  aroused.  In  the  mean  time  some 
twenty  or  more  spectators  had  fathered  about,  anxious  to  see  how 


624  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

tlie  altercation  between  the  two  men  would  end.  Wyneken 
promptly  met  the  boldness  with  which  he  attempted  to  justify 
himself,  saying :  "  We  shall  see,"  and  turning  to  the  assembled 
crowd,  called  for  a  decision.  "Friends,"  said  he,  "you  have  all 
known  this  man  a  long  time.  What  do  you  say?  All  of  you 
who  think  that  he  is  a  dirty  hog  please  say  yes  !"  "  Yes  ! — yes  ! — 
yes !"  was  the  unanimous  decision.  The  man  was  thoroughly 
ashamed  of  himself,  and  quietly  left  the  place.  But  Wyneken 
quickly  followed  him,  and  spoke  to  him  so  cheeringly  and  en- 
couragingly, that  iie  soon  had  the  pleasure  of  knowing  him  and 
speaking  of  him  as  a  better  man. 


Wyneken  had  great  presence  of  mind  and  an  astonishing 
amount  of  ready  humor  at  his  constant  command,  so  that  he  always 
knew  what  to  speak,  and  very  seldom  failed  to  silence  the  lips  of 
scorners.  This  trait  in  his  character  is  illustrated  by  numerous 
incidents  in  his  rich  and  varied  experience. 


On  one  occasion  he  had  in  his  travels  taken  refuge  in  one  of  the 
hotels  of  the  country.  While  quietly  seated  at  the  table,  enjoying 
his  frugal  meal,  a  foppish  young  fellow  entered  the  room,  and  as 
soon  as  he  saw  the  preacher,  sneeringly  accosted  him  with  the 
assertion  :  "  Well,  you  surely  must  be  a  priest."  "  Yes,"  was  the 
prompt  response,  "and,  fortunately  for  you,  this  is  the  only 
circumstance  that  prevents  me  from  kicking  you  out  of  the  house  !" 


A  similar  anecdote  may  be  related  in  this  connection,  though 
the  circumstance  occurred  at  a  much  later  date.  Wyneken  had 
been  absent  from  Fort  Wayne  for  some  time,  when  he  returned  to 
the  city  and  called  at  the  drug  store  of  Mr.  Meyers.  At  this  place 
he  met  an  old  acquaintance  who  accosted  him  with  much  famili- 
arity :  "  Hallo,  Mr.  Wyneken,  how  do  you  do  ?  Are  you  still  the 
old  pietist  that  you  have  been  ?"  "  Yes,"  replied  Wyneken,  "  and 
are  you  still  the  old  miser  that  you  formerly  have  been?"  The 
old  man  had  nothing  more  to  say. 


On  one  occasion  he  had  denied  the  Holy  Supper  to  a  man  who 
was  guilty  of  adultery.  The  sin,  however,  had  not  yet  become 
public:  indeed,  the  circumstances  were  of  such  a  nature,  that  if 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  U25 

•he  had  been  disposed  to  deny  it,  Wyneken  might  have  had  some 
difficulty  in  furnishing  satisfactory  evidence  of  his  guilt.  On  this 
state  of  affairs  the  proud  and  hitherto  much  respected  Mr.  P.  had 
based  his  mode  of  attack.  At  a  congregational  meeting  he  made 
the  demand,  that  Wyneken  should  mention  the  reason  why  he  had 
refused  the  Holy  Supper  to  him.  Wyneken  replied,  that  he,  Mr. 
P.,  knew  the  reason  well  enough,  and  that  it  could  therefore  not 
be  necessary  to  make  mention  of  it.  But  the  adulterer  insisted 
upon  it,  and  several  of  his  friends  very  warmly  supported  him  in 
making  the  demand.  Wyneken  asked  him  whether  he  remem- 
bered what  had  been  said  to  him  at  the  time  when  he  announced 
his  name.  Mr.  P.  replied  that  he  did  !  Wyneken  further  desired 
him  to  state  whether  he  could  deny  the  truth  of  the  things  then 
stated  to  him?  Mr.  P.  refused  to  answer  this  question  ;  but  con- 
tinued to  insist  on  a  statement  of  the  reason  why  he  could  not 
receive  the  Lord's  Supper !  Wyneken  still  maintained  that  he 
had  told  him ;  if,  however,  Mr.  P.  desired  that  the  congregation 
should  know  it,  he  himself  might  relate  the  affair.  Thereupon 
Mr.  P.  suddenly  declared,  "  You  have  accused  me  of  being  an 
adulterer!"  "Very  true,"  Wyneken  replied,  "so  I  told  you  be- 
ticeen  thee  and  me  alone;  you  yourself  have  now  made  the  matter 
public,  and  you  must  accept  the  consequences.  I  am  now  obliged 
to  relate  to  the  congregation  the  reasons  why  I  accused  vou." 
Wyneken  then  told  the  story  ;  unexpectedly  witnesses  were  found 
who  knew  what  had  transpired ;  Mr.  P.  was  exposed,  but  con- 
tinued proud  and  impenitent;  full  of  wrath  he  left  the  meeting 
to  return  no  more. 


Toward  the  fallen  who  confessed  their  sin  Wyneken  was  very 
ready  to  show  mercy  and  sympathy.  Nothing  was  more  disagree- 
able to  him  than  hard  and  uncharitable  reports  and  judgments 
concerning  persons  who  had  sinned  in  infirmity  or  ignorance.  At 
such  times  he  could  severely  rebuke  the  "just,"  and  likewise  ad- 
minister correction  to  the  "  wise,"  who  could  patronizingly  say  of 
some  new  member  who  was  about  to  be  received :  "  His  only  de- 
fect is,  that  he  is  in  need  of  a  right  knowledge  of  fhe  truth." 


His  benevolence  in  giving  can  best  be  portrayed  by  a  few  exam- 
ples. While  residing  in  Indiana,  the  people  in  the  neighboring 
settlements  often  urged  him  to  take  something,  either  money  or 


626  FIFTY    YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

provisions,  home  witli  him.  Bat  he  seldom  reached  home  with 
his  supplies.  He  would  either  give  all  to  some  needy  person  whom 
he  met  on  the  way,  or  to  poor  people  who  were  residing  along  the 
road. 


At  one  time,  while  he  was  yet  staying  with  Mr.  Kudisill,  he 
came  riding  home  in  his  stocJcing  feet ;  his  boots  had  been  given  on 
the  way  to  a  poor  man  whom  he  had  met,  and  who  asked  him  for 
help.  The  man's  shoes  were  worn  out,  and  Wyneken  gave  him 
the  boots. 


At  another  time  his  father-in-law  had  given  him  money  to  buy 
a  pair  of  boots,  as  his  own  were  somewhat  leaky.  He  start-ed  for 
the  shop  to  make  the  purchase,  but  returned  with  neither  boots 
nor  money.  On  the  way  he  had  met  poor  people  who  needed  the 
money  more  than  he. 

Of  a  very  sympathizing  and  liberal  man  it  is  sometimes  said, 
"  He  will,  if  necessary,  give  the  shirt  he  is  wearing."  Wyneken, 
on  one  occasion,  literally  did  this.  He  entered  a  house  in  which 
several  men  were  occupied  in  laying  out  the  body  of  a  man  who 
had  recently  died.  He  observed  that  the  men  were  looking  for 
something  that  they  could  not  find,  because  it  was  not  there — a 
clean  shirt.  As  soon  as  Wyneken  discovered  this,  he  said,  "  Wait 
a  moment ;  I  know  where  to  find  one."  He  went  out  into  the 
wood-shed,  and  returning  gave  them  his  own  shirt.  His  vest, 
however,  was  buttoned  up  to  his  chin. 


To  his  clothing  Wyneken  paid  little  attention  while  acting  as 
missionary.  Even  his  best  suit  was  usually  threadbare  and  some- 
w^hat  patched.  The  rents  in  his  black  pantaloons  were  not  unfre- 
quently  hastily  sewed  up  with  white  thread.  It  became  somewhat 
unpleasant  to  the  congregation  to  see  their  pastor  wearing  such 
poor  garments.  Especially  the  yellow  pantaloons,  that  have 
already  been  mentioned,  were  very  disagreeable.  He,  however, 
was  pleased  with  them,  because  they  were  "  indestructible,"  and 
he  wore  them  in  the  city  as  well  as  in  the  country. 


Every  one  knew  that  Wyneken  never  kept  money  in  his  house, 
and  that  he  had  none  with   which  to  purchase  better  clothing. 


FIFTY   YEARS    IN    THE    LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  G27 

The  deacon,  Ernst  Vosz,  accordingly,  at  one  time,  collected  forty- 
dollars  for  him  (at  that  time  a  very  considerable  amount),  brought 
the  money  to  him  with  great  joy,  and  very  urgently  requested  him 
to  procure  a  respectable  suit  of  clothes.  Vosz  was  still  present 
when  a  poor  woman  came  to  Wyneken,  complaining  bitterly.  She 
related  that  her  husband  had  long  been  prostrated  by  sickness, 
that  the  rent  had  not  been  paid  for  months,  that  her  landlord 
would  wait  no  longer,  that  she  had  neither  money  or  food,  that 
she  and  her  children  were  suffering  with  hunger,  that,  altogether, 
she  was  in  extreme  want.  Vo.sz  listened  to  this  recital  a  while, 
and  then,  regarding  his  presence  as  superfluous,  took  his  de- 
parture. 

The  congregation  now  hoped  soon  to  see  their  pastor  appear  in 
a  new  outfit ;  however,  he  wore  the  old  suit  a  long  time.  Some 
began  to  think  strange  of  this,  and,  one  day,  Vosz  asked  him  in 
regard  to  the  new  suit,  whether  it  would  not  be  finished  soon  ? 
"New  suit?"  responded  Wyneken,  "What  new  suit?  Where 
should  I  get  money  to  buy  new  clothes?"  "  But,"  said  Vosz,  very 
unpleasantly  surprised,  "  did  I  not  bring  you  forty  dollars  for  this 
purpose?  And  now  you  have  no  money?"  "  Yes,"  said  Wyne- 
ken very  cheerfully,  "  you  see,  that  is  perfectly  natural.  Did  you 
not  at  that  tim.e  see  the  poor  woman  who,  with  bitter  tears,  told 
me  her  want  ?  I  gave  the  money  to  her,  because  she  needed  it 
more  than  I.  Why,  you  see;  my  clothes  are  good  enough  yet." 
Vosz  began  to  remonstrate,  but  Wyneken  interrupted  him,  saying, 
"Well,  do  not  make  so  much  ado  about  it;  our  faithful  God  can 
restore  the  money  twofold,  and  give  me  a  pair  of  pantaloons  be- 
sides, when  I  need  them  !"  "  Yes,  such  is  your  way  of  speaking," 
replied  Vosz  somewhat  despondingly.  "  What  ?"  said  Wyneken, 
"do  you  doubt  this?  You  are  a  fine  christian  !  Do  you  know 
what  the  first  article  says?  I  believe  that  God  richly  and  daily 
provides  me  with  all  the  necessaries  and  enjoyments  of  life."  Vosz 
was  silent,  but  the  expression  of  his  face  seemed  to  say,  "  God  had 
provided  for  you ;  you  have  given  it  away ;  now  you  may  do  the 
best  you  can  !" 

Together  the  two  men  went  to  the  city.  They  had  not  gone 
far,  when  Postmaster  R.  cried  out,  "  Wyneken,  here  is  a  letter  for 
you!"  "From  what  place?"  said  Wyneken  with  surprise  and 
pleasure  ;  for  in  those  days  letters  were  less  common  than  they  are 
now.     "From  Germany,"  was  the  reply.     Wyneken  took  the  let- 


628  FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

ter,  and  knew,  as  soon  as  he  had  seen  the  address,  that  it  had  come 
from  his  rehxtives.  He  opened  it,  and  the  first  thing  he  drew  from 
the  envelope  was  a  draft  for  eighty  dollars,  sent  to  him  by  his 
brethren,  "  to  keep  him  from  starving  in  the  forest."  He  showed 
the  draft  to  Vosz,  saying,  "  Do  you  see  ?  you  unbelieving  Thomas  !" 

They  passed  on  and  came  to  a  store,  the  proprietor  of  which, 
who  was  standing  in  the  door,  kept  ready-made  clothing.  When 
he  saw  Wyneken  he  said,  "Parson,  will  you  please  come  in?" 
Wvneken,  still  accompanied  by  Vosz,  complied  with  his  request. 
"  See  here,"  said  the  merchant,  "  I  have  a  pair  of  pantaloons  that 
were  made  for  a  man  who  lives  in  the  country ;  he  is  a  man  of 
your  size  ;  it  would  be  a  great  favor  to  me  if  you  would  try  them 
on  before  I  send  them  away,  so  that  I  could  know  that  they  fit 
him  !" 

Wyneken,  feeling  slightly  out  of  humor  at  such  a  request,  at 
first  refused  to  comply.  When  the  merchant,  however,  urged  him 
to  do  so,  he  went  to  the  apartment  provided  for  such  purposes, 
put  on  the  garment  and  came  out,  showing  them  to  the  merchant. 
"  Well,"  said  the  latter,  "  how  do  you  like  these  pantaloons  ?  They 
are  very  fine  wear,  the  very  thing  for  a  preacher  !"  "  Yes,"  said 
Wyneken,  "such  things  are  not  for  me  !  Ever  since  I  have  been 
a  preacher,  I  have  never  had  such  pantaloons ;  7iow  I  could  not 
make  use  of  them  at  all."  "  Well,  Parson,"  said  the  merchant, 
"  the  pantaloons  are  yours  ;  you  must  keep  them  ;  they  were  made 
for  you  and — are  paid  !" 

Wyneken  was  reluctant  to  accept  the  gift ;  he  went  back  again 
to  put  on  his  old  comfortable  yellow  garment ;  but  it — was  gone, 
and  he  was  obliged  to  return  home  in  the  new  pantaloons. 

"Well,  Vosz,  what  have  you  to  say  now?"  said  Wyneken,  ex- 
tending his  hand  to  the  person  addressed.  The  tears  were  in  his 
eyes,  as  he  pressed  his  pious  pastor's  hand  and  went  away. 


Wyneken  often  emptied  his  wife's  pantry  and  flour-barrel. 
Usually  he  was  confined  to  the  latter,  for  there  was  nothing  else 
at  hand  that  he  could  give  away.  On  this  account  his  good  wife 
was  not  unfrequently  embarrassed,  and  sometimes  complained.  On 
such  occasions  he  would  say  :  "  Only  he  of  good  cheer.  Our  faith- 
ful God  is  exceedingly  rich,  and  ivill  provide  for  you,  so  that  you 
will  agaiji  have  something  to  cooh  and  hake.  Be  full  of  courage. 
It  is  more  hlessed  to  give  than  to  receive.'' 


FIFTY   YEARS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY.  629 

At  one  time  his  wife  had  a  fine  cloth  coat  made  for  him.  But 
because  his  old  gray  duster  felt  more  comfortable,  he  continued 
the  wearing  of  it,  leaving  the  new  coat  for  a  long  time  hanging  in 
the  wardrobe  unused.  When  he  was  preparing  to  go  to  the  next 
Synod,  his  wife  desired  to  pack  the  new  coat  into  his  traveling 
bag.  She  opened  the  wardrobe,  but  could  see  nothing  of  it.  She 
looked  for  it  everywhere,  but  could  not  find  it.  At  last  she  asked 
her  husband  what  he  had  done  with  the  new  coat.  "  Yes,"  said 
he,  "  you  see,  a  poor  Jellow  at  one  time  came  here,  a  dilapidated  Ger- 
man c  tndidate,  for  whom  the  coat  was  an  admirable  fit,  and  he  went 
away  with  it  in  great  glee." 

It  is  self-evident  that  wretched  impostors  frequently  abused 
Wyneken's  hospitality.  In  Baltimore  a  poor  man  came  to  him, 
who  claimed  to  have  been  rich  in  Germany.  He  complained  of 
his  too  great  difficulty  in  learning  the  English  language,  in  conse- 
quence of  wdiich  he  desired  to  return  to  Germany,  and  accordingly 
requested  of  Wyneken  a  small  contribution  for  his  traveling  ex- 
penses. AVyneken  gave  him  the  last  half  dollar  he  had,  and  after- 
wards had  the  jjleasure  of  very  frequently  seeing  this  tired  wan- 
derer in  America  on  the  streets  of  the  city.  After  such 
experiences  he  was  in  the  habit  of  saying,  "  It  is  a  good  thirig  that 
Idklnot  cheat  him,"  and  at  the  next  opportunity  he  gave  again 
what  he  had. 

At  another  time  as  he  was  in  the  same  drug  store,  and  just 
upon  the  point  of  leaving,  a  man  who  had  for  some  time  been 
attending  his  preaching,  stepped  up  to  him,  and  said  with  an 
earnest  air:  "  Tell  me  now  honestly,  pastor,  do  you  really  believe 
what  you  preach?  I  don't  believe  it!"  "Only  stand  by  that!" 
replied  W.  at  once,  "  and  when  the  devil  collars  you  and  drags 
you  into  hell,  only  keep  on  crying  out:  I  don't  believe  it,'  I  don't 
believe  it  yet!"  With  this  he  sprang  upon  his  horse  and  rode 
away.  The  wat  also  left ;  but  after  a  few  days  returned  to  the 
shop,  inquiring  for  W.  and  saying :  "  That  man's  words  have 
troubled  me;  I  must  have  a  talk  with  him."  The  meeting  took 
place,  and  the  man  became  a  believer. 


Occasionally  some  one  would  remain  after  the  sermon  to  com- 
plain of  some  of  his  views  and  ex^Dressions.     In  a  sermon  on  the 
40 


630  FIFTY   YEAKS   IN    THE   LUTHERAN    MINISTRY. 

eleventli  Sunday  after  Trinity,  upon  "  The  two  church-goers,"  he 
said,  that  among  the  poor  sinners  who  enter  the  church,  there  are 
always  some  Pharisees  to  be  found.  The  latter  he  then  suitably 
considered  and  pictured  their  character  in  his  peculiar  style. 
After  the  sermon  two  old  members  of  the  congregation  came  to 
him  and  expressed  their  doubts  as  to  whether  there  were  really 
any  such  Pharisees  among  them.  But  W.  soon  convinced  them 
that  they  need  not  look  at  a  very  great  distance  for  the  Pharisee, 
but  could  find  him  very  near  home.  They  left,  and  did  not  soon 
again  undertake  to  criticise  his  sermons. 


While  acting  as  President  of  Synod,  he  visited  a  distracted 
congregation  in  the  far  West.  At  the  conclusion  of  a  noisy  and 
in'^ifectual  meeting  which  had  lasted  to  midnight,  he  was  standing 
m  the  dark  vestibule  of  the  church,  while  the  pastor  of  the  con- 
gregation put  out  the  lights.  While  here,  he  overheard  some  of 
the  most  violent  of  the  opposition,  principally  young  men,  dis- 
puting violently  about  him  on  the  other  side  of  the  street,  and 
threatening  to  thrash  him.  Without  any  hesitation,  W.  stepped 
suddenly  in  front  of  them,  and  said  in  Platt-Deutsch  ;  "  Young 
men,  I  want  to  say  something  to  you.  I  am  not  afraid  of  the 
devil,  and  do  you  think  that  I  will  be  afraid  of  you  ?  You  are  a 
miserable  set  of  fellows,  &c."  He  gave  them  a  severe  overhauling, 
and  then  quickly  left  them.  The  men  looked  at  one  another  in 
bewilderment ;  they  had  conceived  a  sudden  respect  for  the  Platt- 
Deutsch  President,  and  gave  proof  of  it  in  the  next  meeting,  by 
peacefully  submitting.  One  of  them  became  later  a  live  member 
of  the  congregation. 


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